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RECOLLECTIONS OF A NEWSPAPERMAN

'W^-cuaJY CLy ^rc^z^^^_^

RECOLLECTIONS OF
A NEWSPAPERMAN

A RECORD OF
LIFE AND EVENTS
IN CALIFORNIA

FRANK A. X EACH

SAN FRANCISCO

SAMUEL LEVINSON

PUBLISHER
MCMXVII

TO THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE MOTHER
OF MY FOUR SONS -A TRUE WIFE AND
LOVABLE COMPANION -WHO WAS EVER
READY TO CHEERFULLY BEAR MORE THAN
HER SHARE OF THE STRUGGLES OF LIFE;
WHOSE INTELLECTUALITY, PURITY OF
SOUL, GRACE OF MANNER AND KINDNESS
WERE IMPARTED FOR THE UPLIFT OF ALL
WHO CAME WITHIN THE CIRCLE
OF HER INFLUENCE

ij f-' /" f \.f^'

INTRODUCTION

Ordinarily, a book of this kind might be expected to find
its way before the public without the formality of a pref-
ace or introductory remarks, but as this book was not
written with a view to its general publication, and is
now submitted to the public for what value and inter-
est it may have, at the urgent request of friends acquainted
with the undertaking, I feel that I should place upon these
friends the responsibility for any seeming assurance on
my part in presenting the book.

A life experience of sixty-five years in California, con-
nected as it must be with the pioneer daj^s of the state,
could hardly be otherwise than fraught with incidents
and events of interest and observations of historical value.
Such a life was my fortune to experience. Upon reaching
that period of life when man does not look so much upon
the future as upon the past, I was prompted in one of my
reminiscent moods to reduce to writing my recollections,
experiences, and observations for the sixty and odd years,
the most of which were passed in Central California,
solely for the perusal and benefit of my four sons. The
manuscript was completed three years ago.

I felt that they would not only be interested in the activi-
ties of my career and such matter of historical value that
came under my observation during this long period of
years, but also they might derive some profit by having
laid before them the experiences and the mistakes, as
well as any possible successes of my lifetime.

This will explain the presence in the chapters that fol-
low of certain details of purely personal matters and fam-
ily aflfairs that it would be presumption on my part to

Recollections of a Newspaperman

coiisidci' MS ])()ssessing inUicst to any one (uilside the
nu'iiihtTs of my own family, and possihly the circle of
inliinatc Iriinds.

It will also explain the peculiar phraseology in some ol
the passaj^es where the writer appears as addressing his
sons, a lorm which might seem out of place in a hook
written solely for the puhlic eye.

These four boys have been a source of great pride to
me, and their companionship has been one of the greatest
pleasures of my life. This book was written for their ben-
efit and gratification, and therefore to eliminate the fea-
tures apologized for, would impair if not destroy the
objects and purposes of my labor of love.

In conclusion, I must confess no small degree of
pleasure derived from the work of writing "My Recol-
lections," but in submitting the book to the public I must
admit some feelings of misgivings, mingled with the hope
that its historical features may be regarded as overshad-
owing its excessive personality, and give to the book value
and interest to others than for whom it was originally
intended.

Frank A. Leach.

San Francisco, Cal., April 10. 1917.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I PAGE

My First Years in California 1

CHAPTER H
Old-Time Election Methods 14

CHAPTER HI
Early Days in Sacramento 28

CHAPTER lY
Reminiscenses of Napa 43

CHAPTER V

Trip to the Atlantic Coast 66

CHAPTER VI

Close of School Work 87

CHAPTER Vn

Squatter Troubles 102

CHAPTER Vni
Beginning Newspaper Work 110

CHAPTER IX

The First Railroad to Tidewater 131

HecoUections of a Newspaperman

ciiapti:f{ X paoe

EVKNTS IN AM) AlMH I Vvi.I.C.H) . 1 r)2

CHAPTKR X!

Politic \i, \m> Oiiiiii Incidi-nts . . . . . .182

GIIAPTEH XII
Legislativi: Expeiuences and Farm Lifi: .... 216

CHAPTER XIII
Newspaper Life in Oakland ...... 256

CHAPTER XIV

In the Service of the Government 287

CHAPTER* XV
Great Rarthquake and Fire of 1906 313

CHAPTER XVI

Officl^l Life in Washington 368

ILLUSTRATIONS

Frank A. Leach

Frontispiece

J Street, Sacramento, New Year's Day, 1853

Election Tickets Used in the Early Seventies .

Sacramento Fire, November 2nd, 1852

The Little Brick Church in Napa

A View Across the Lower End of Napa Valley .

View of Napa River Looking East from the End of
ond Street .......

One of the Pioneer Flour Mills of Napa Valley
One of the First Houses Erected in Napa .
View of Georgia Street, Vallejo, in 1868 .
View Near the Business Center of Vallejo, 1870
The Morning of the First Day of the Great Fire of
U. S. Mint Building Immediaiely After the Fire
U. S. Mint Buiding, Showing Fire-Scarred Walls
Scene from the Roof of the U. S. Mint Showing

Ruins ........

Sketch by the Author of an Adobe House Near Pleas

ANTON

FACING PAGE

16
32
48
64
80

Sec

1906

Fire

96
96
96
160
176
320
336
352

352

368

RECOLLECTIONS OF A NEWSPAPERMAN

CHAPTER I

MY FIRST YEARS IN CALIFORNIA

Observations and Incidents in Crossing the Isthmus of Nic-
aragua in 1852 — Floods and Fires in Sacramento —
Early Day Schools — Presidential Campaign of 1853

My life seems to begin, so far as my memory serves, at
the age of about five and a lialf years; at the time, in
company with my mother, I left New York City in 1852
on a steamer bound for CaUfornia. The departure from
our old home in Cayuga County, New York, or the trip
to the City of New York left no impression of any kind
on my mind or memory, but I have a very clear recol-
lection of being on the deck of the steamer as she moved
away from the wharf in New York harbor. The great
crowd of people assembled on the docks to witness the
departure of the steamer, cheering and waving handker-
chiefs, bombarding the passengers with oranges, all made
a scene which remains vivid in my memory to this day.
I do not recall any incidents or even have any recollec-
tion of what occurred during the trip to Nicaragua
other than the illness of my mother from seasickness,
and that prunes and mush and molasses were too promi-
nent and frequent items on the steamer's bill of fare to
suit the pampered taste of an "only child." However,
the events occurring in crossing the Isthmus were to my
youthful mind of a character to place me in a condition
of excitement, wonderment, and interest such as I had
never known before. There was so much going on that
w^as so new to me that I did not want to spare the time
to eat or sleep. A portion of the journey was on mule-
back through the tropical forests, but that did not inter-

— / —

Jiciollcflioiis of (I Xrinspaprrnuin

csl nic so miicli ;is lli.il |);iil ol the (lip up llir Chagrcs
HiviT on :i small slcin-w lurl sh aiix r in which the
pass('nf»(rs wrvc so ciowdcd that when it canit- night
there was nol sniru-ienl room Tof all to lie down on the
dock for rest or slccj). The women and children were
given the first privilege of the deck floor and the hal-
ance of the passengers had to sit or stand up until the
landing was reached. It seems to me we were on that
steamer a good part of a day and night. A portion of
the river was quite narrow, and the branches of trees
on the banks overhung the water. Either through unskil-
ful handling of the little steamer, or wilfulness in head-
way on the part of the steamer itself, the craft several
times crashed into the overhanging branches, to the great
fright of the passengers. When a railing gave way before
a rush of passengers to our side of the craft to witness
some unusual sight, a couple of passengers fell or were
pushed overboard, but they were quickly rescued.

During the daylight part of the trip and early evening
it had been a "picnic" for the major part of the passen-
gers, but when darkness overwhelmed all scenery and
practically all space in the steamer (for little provision
had been made for lighting the vessel, and people wanted
to rest and sleep), then the misen,' of the situation began
to develop. Lucky was the individual who found enough
space in which to lie prone upon the deck. Those who
were compelled to stand up were not very considerate of
those down on the decks. The noises they made, startling
false alarms of "man overboard!" and the occasional
crashing of the steamer into limbs of overhanging trees,
made sleep impossible even for a boy.

I remember but little of the remaining part of the trip
across the Isthmus other than that we crossed a lake in
another small steamer and had to be carried out from
the beach to small boats which took us to the steamer
at anchor, some little distance from shore.

— 2 —

My First Years in California

The steamer on the Pacific side of the Isthmus that was
to have taken us to San Francisco was destroyed by fire
on the way down to meet us. This misfortune compelled
us to remain on the Isthmus for thirty days while another
steamer could be secured to continue us on our journey.
The accommodations for the compulsory residence in the
tropics were not suitable for the passengers, nearly all
of whom were from Northern climes. This, with indis-
cretion in eating and drinking, caused serious illness to
seize upon them, resulting fatally in many cases. When
the steamer did arrive to take us away, another lot of
passengers had come over the Isthmus, so it can be well
imagined how crowded the vessel was when she started
for San Francisco. For myself, I do not recollect any
inconvenience on this part of the voyage other than the
plebeian diet, which was too common and coarse for a
finicky boy of my age, whose tastes had undoubtedly
been unduly gratified in the past by a lot of loving aunts
who had no children themselves. However, I recall the
recital by my mother of the trials of the trip, which
showed that it was anything but a pleasure excursion.
The steamer was slow at the best, and with her overload
she was more than two weeks in reaching San Francisco.

There my father, who had preceded us by nearly two
years, met us and immediately took us to Sacramento,
where he was engaged in the business of making and bot-
tling soda water, the pioneer plant of that city. We were
soon established in a home of our own. Father had
bought a lot on the south side of P Street, between Third
and Fourth streets, and erected a small dwelling, doing
a good part of the work himself. That winter the city
was visited by a flood which put nearly every part of it
under water, and where our house stood the flood was
several feet deep. In fact, our house was floated off its
foundation. The rain had fallen in torrents for so many,
days continuously that a flood seemed inevitable, so father

— 3 —

liccollccliniis of <t S civsixtpcnnun

wisely loiiiid (jii;irltis lor us in the loll ol a l)aiii, where,
with our liiriiiture, :iii(l haiif^in^ of sail cloths around
tile walls to keej) out the wind that (Uherwisc would have
'come llirou^li tli( cracks, we lived quite coinfoiiably.
When Die Hood was llie hif»hest the water came within
two leel ol the loll floor. I'^ither luid a boat, and, boy-
like, I certainly enjoyed the situation. The barn was our
domicile for the entire winter, until the waters so receded
that father could replace and fix up our house.

Before the flood a terrible fire visited the city, destroy-
ing many blocks of buildings in the business as well as
the residence sections. It occurred during a black, windy
December night. I shall never forget the sight. The fierce
flames arising from blocks of burning buildings and red
light reflected against the heavy clouds to me looked as
if the world was on fire. On account of the direction of
the wind our part of the city was safe from the fire, and
the refugees, men, women, and children, came rushing
down the streets, many passing our place, some partially
clad, intermingled with all kinds of horse-drawn vehicles
crowding the streets from curb to curb, loosely laden with
household effects, all making a motley procession such
as I have never seen before or since. The next morning
there were to be seen along these highways all kinds
of furniture and bits of clothing, etc., which had been
lost from the vehicles or abandoned by the owners in their
rush for safety. My father picked up a few pieces of
furniture and placed them in our front yard for a time,
but 1 do not remember they were ever reclaimed. One
piece was a large arm rocking chair, which father
repaired and which was in our household for many years.
In fact, he gave it to me when 1 was married, and I spent
many an evening in its comfortable scat, before dispos-
ing of it.

But to return to the subject of the flood. As I recollect,
the water subsided finally so that father was enabled to

— 4 —

My First Years in California

get our house upon its foundation again, but we were
barely installed when the city was again overflowed. But
the water did not come high enough to drive us out of
the house this time. I am sure I enjoyed the situation
immensely. I would not have had the water drained
away if I could have prevented it. The flood water around
our house afforded me more entertainment than I could
possibly have got out of the freedom of dry land in its
place. We had a boat, and as the water was shallow
about the house I was allowed to get into it, with the
understanding that I was not to loosen it from the moor-
ings. At first it was fine sport, and the length of the
play of the "painter" was a matter of indifference, but
after a while I longed for a wider scope of movement
of the boat so, concluding a little more length of rope
would increase the length of my voyages, I let it out
little by little, still keeping my compact not to cast it off,
until finally and literally I came to the "end of my rope."
I knew now how to paddle to make the boat go in any
direction desired. I had not fallen overboard, as had
been expected, so what harm could there be if that
"painter" accidentally became untied? I wouldn't be
scared if I drifted away beyond the limits of my past
sailing privileges! Why, I would just row back and tie
the old boat up according to contract, and no one would
be the wiser! I will not take the space to preach the
sermon that would be imperative at this point in a Sun-
day-school book, but give the sequel, which was just what
you would expect to find in fiction or in stories told where
a moral is the predominating feature.

Just prior to the recurrence of the flood, father had had
the lot, which was about 100 by 150 feet in size, plowed up.
When the boat slipped from its moorings I managed to
influence its drifting to the farthermost corner of the
lot, where the water was the deepest, and things most
unknown to me were supposed to exist. Here in my

— 5 —

HcfoUccliinis of (I i\rii>sff(ifjcrm(in

awkwardness I dropjx <l one of (Ik pjiddlcs overboard.
The fear of losing' llic oar, and tlic loss becoming glaring
evidence of violalion of my privilege, gave me a moment
of agonized excilemenl in wliicli I gr;il)l)ed for the pad-
dle lloaliiig awjiy from llie bonl ;in(L losing my balance,
overboard 1 went. Now tlie (jueslion in my mind was a
graver one: Was death to be the punishment for my
offense? Fortunately, when my feet touched the bottom
I stood on lop of one of the plowed furrows and was
able to keep my mouth out of the water, though scarcely
above tlic surface. Along the west side of the yard was a
picket fence. This was the only place of refuge and
safety, so I decided to reach the fence, if possible. At the
very first step I made my foot landed in the bottom of
the furrow, and down went my head under the water.
I had enough presence of mind to know thai if 1 ever
expected to reach the fence I should have to do it by
stepping from the ridge of one furrow to the other, as
they were parallel to the fence. This I succeeded in doing
fairly well. Occasionally the lumpy earth crumbled under
my weight, and sometimes I would miss the ridge, so I
was completely immersed several times before the fence
w^as gained. Somehow in the mix-up I got hold of the
"painter" of the boat and dragged it along with me.
In due course of time 1 reached the house in as penitent
mood as could be imagined, feeling, though, that I had
received full measure of punishment for my escapade.
I guess, from my looks and general appearance, my folks
thought so, too, for I was simply put to bed. and in a
few days I was fully recovered, but it was some time
before I was privileged to do any more boating.

One of the winters we passed in Sacramento was
remarkable for a cold snap, the like of which I do not
remember in any subsequent year of my long residence
in California. It must have been the winter of 18.^4 or
1855. There were several vacant lots in the vicinity of

— 6 —

My First Years in California

Second and L streets depressed below the street level,
which became ponds in the rainy season. These were
frozen over with a thickness of ice to bear the weight
of a man. My father had a pair of skates. When he
obtained them I do not know, but as soon as he discovered
the ice mentioned he was out skating, to the entertain-
ment of quite a crowd, some of whom were so anxious
to enjoy the sport that he was offered $5 and other sums
for the privilege of putting on the skates.

China Slough or lake was also frozen over, but as this
was quite a large body of water the ice was not so thick
and was not safe for the skaters, although venturesome
boys were on it along the shore line. China Slough is a
thing of the past. For many years it existed, an eye-
sore and a menace to the health of the city. The body
of water extended from First Street to about Seventh
in one direction and two or three blocks from 1 Street in
the other direction. Chinatown was located on its south-
ern boundary. Consequently, much filth was dumped
into the slough, which had no drainage, and as may be
well imagined it was but little better than a huge cess-
pool. In recent years the Southern Pacific Railroad Com-
pany filled it with earth and sand, obliterating the last
vestige of the little lake. The weather bureau was not
established until a number of years subsequent to the
winter above mentioned, therefore there is no official
record of the cold snap described, but I have many times
in later years verified my recollections of the event in
conversation with pioneer residents of Sacramento. Peri-
odically the entire state is visited by unusually cold spells
when the thermometer registers a few degrees below the
freezing point, but I am sure the winter I mention gave
us the coldest weather ever experienced since the set-
tlement here of white people. We have had, perhaps,
winters as a whole made more severe by long durations
of weather when the thermometer registered higher, but

-7 —

lifCllUcclioHS of (I \CII>SIHIJ))'IIH(III

so close to llic IVccziiij^ point lli;il iiiiicli daiiiagc was
raiiscd, especially lo raisers ol slock. I iiave in mind
llie winter ol IStil as one instance. On llial occasion the
rainlall was excessive, with a period ol several weeks of
very cold weather. Cattle on the ranges were almost
exterminated in some sections. At that time all the land
east of the Town of Napa was a vast cattle range, carry-
ing large herds, the majority of which succumbed to the
cold. The carcasses fairly dotted the range. When the
owners found they could do nothing to save the stock
they employed gangs of men to go on the range and
strip the hides from the animals as fast as they died, and
in this way they made some salvage from the disaster.

My mother was anxious that I should have a good edu-
cation, and, with the mistaken idea that we should begin
at the earliest possible moment, bundled me off to a pri-
vate school while I was yet six years old. At this time
there were no public schools in Sacramento, as no public
school system had been legalized by the state. At first I
was much interested in going to school, but soon the con-
finement from 9 A. M. to 4 p. m., with the usual intermis-
sions, and being forced into studies which were beyond
my power of comprehension, completely destroyed all
ambition I might have had to acquire learning, and for
several years thereafter I attended school much in the
same frame of mind as a person submits to imprisonment.
For some years any knowledge I acquired must have been
by absorption, and not on account of any effort on my
part. On the contrary, according to my recollections, my
best efforts were exerted in ways of avoiding school and
the attempt of the well meaning teachers to crowd into
my immature brain principles of grammar and arith-
metic far beyond my sense of understanding. I did not
make a practice of running away from school or "playing
hookey." 1 can recall only one occasion when I indulged
in truancy. 1 knew 1 was doing wrong, but all thoughts

— 8 —

My First Years in California

in that direction were overbalanced by the contempla-
tion of the enjoyment of freedom for an afternoon with a
lot of my boy chmns who planned the escapade. This
included a visit to a watermelon patch where young-
sters were welcomed by the owner, and an hour or two
in the swimming hole, which was but little better than a
mud puddle. On the way we heard the strains of band
music. After running around a block or so we finally
located the band in a building where the members had
assembled for practice. There was a glass door or win-
dow some little distance above the ground, and a con-
venient box enabled the boys to climb up and peek in
the room and see as well as hear. The window accom-
modated only a couple of the youthful spectators at a
time and the fortunate ones remained at the point of
vantage only as long as the other boys would allow.
When it came my turn to look into the window they
did not have to pull me away or did I delay mj' suc-
cessor, for, horrors upon horrors! the first and only thing
I saw was my father gazing directly toward me. I col-
lapsed, dropped to the ground, and rushed away to hide
myself. My remorse was deep and sincere. How could I
face my parents again, for I was certain that my father
had discovered mj'^ absence from school without his per-
mission. I resolved never again to play truant if I should
live through the ordeal of the severe punishment I rec-
ognized the enormity of the offense justified. I would
have given anything I possessed, and mortgaged my
future, if I could only have got back into the school room,
but all I could do was to wait for the time to go home
just as if I had been at school. However, when I did
get home, greatly to my surprise, nothing was said to me
about the affair. I never knew whether my father failed
to recognize me or that he was averse to bringing up the
subject for fear that he would have to admit an act dis-
pleasing to mother, for she did not approve of his mem-

— 9 —

lifcolh'clioiis of (I XciDspdpf'riiKiii

bcrsliip ill (lie IuhhI, cspcciiilly wlicii it look him away
from liis hiisiiicss. Anyway, lo llie best of my rccollcc-
lioii, millu r \\v nor I j)layc'cl liookey a^ain.

Tlu' first j)iil)Iic school in Sacramento was opened in
a rented store i)uilding on the southwest corner of K and
L streets, and was presided over l)y a man named Jack-
son, who j)ossessed many of the characteristics attrib-
uted lo the Jackson of presidential fame, especially in
temper, impulsive action, and unkempt appearance.
I attended the school the day it first opened and was one
of Ihe very first pupils to excite the wrath of the irri-
table teacher and receive punishment. The heavy blows
on the palm of the hand laid on with a long, flat ruler
did not wound my flesh so deeply or was the hurt so
lasting as was the humiliation of receiving this punish-
ment upon a platform before the entire school. Moreover,
as this treatment was unwarranted by any act of mine,
so far as I knew, I never outgrew my feelings of repug-
nance for Jackson as a teacher.

Prior to the establishment of the public school, which
was in 1854, the only places of instruction for children
were conducted as private schools are in modern days.
There was one more pretentious than the others taught
by a man named Wells, in a frame building erected for
the purpose on the east side of Fourth Street between
K and L streets. Somewhere between fifty and a hundred
pupils were in attendance. The tuition was something
like $5 per month. Mr. Wells was generally loved and
respected by his pupils. In this school 1 am sure 1 made
some headway, for it is the only early school I attended
where I retained any recollection of my books, studies,
and school work for any length of time thereafter. My seat
was back near the front door. It was near the noon hour
one exceedingly warm day in July. 1851. when, hearing
a commotion on the street, 1 looked out through the open
school door and saw a large column of dense black

— 10 —

My First Years in California

smoke ascending straight up from the rear part of the
building on the northeast corner of K and Fourth streets,
a half block away. That was the beginning of the second
largest fire that Sacramento ever experienced. The greater
portion of the business part of the city was destroyed.

The fire protection then consisted of four or possibly
five hand-brake fire engines and two hook and ladder
companies, depending on cisterns in the street squares
or intersections when away from the river for water sup-
ply. This fire apparatus was manned by well organized
companies of volunteers, whose only compensation was
exemption from jury duty and poll tax. The membership
of the companies was made up largely from the ranks of
business men and their employees, and each company
was equipped with torches mounted on handles three or
four feet long which were used when the companies were
called out at night, and were carried on these occasions
by boys who were considered as members of the depart-
ment. I was very ambitious to be a torch boy and was
promised the position whenever I became old enough,
but we moved away from the city before that time
arrived. It was just as well, for I do not believe my
mother could have been induced to consent to the plan.

The first political activity attracting my attention was
the Presidential campaign of 1853. The torchlight parades
and illumination at night were the sources of excitement
for the boys of that day, who were freely permitted to join
the ranks of the paraders and carry torches like the men.
The torches consisted of balls of wicking that had been
soaked in camphene, a very inflammable burning fluid,
impaled on the point of a stick about as long as a broom
handle. Many of the boys were indifferent as to the party
with which they paraded so long as they secured a torch,
but, young as I was, my sympathy and enthusiasm were
bestowed on the Fillmore party only. Why, I can not
tell, nor do I think I was influenced by my father's atti-

— n —

Recollcrlions of <i Ncwspupcnndn

liidc ill politics, l()i- I do not iciiicnilxi" liow lie stood.
Fatlior lU'vcr took much inlcrcst in politics except that
lie always voted and was consistent in his principles.
From the time of the Civil War until his death he voted
with the Kepuhlicans.

Only once did my father ever aspire to hold a public
oHice. In some way quite unknown to me he was inllu-
enced to seek the position of County Assessor for Napa
County. He was defeated in the primaries for the nomi-
nation. This incident happened in 1808 or thereabouts,
after I had left home to establish myself in business, so I
was unable to help him, but aside from the feeling that
no one likes to be or to have those near to him defeated
in any kind of a race, I was rather pleased that his career
was not directed away from the business he had chosen
for his livelihood. I knew he was a very superior
mechanic, with an inventive turn of mind. I felt there was
a wider and better field for him in mechanics than he could
ever expect in politics. It was about this time, or it may
have been a year or so earlier, that he invented a new style
of wagon and carriage hub, the one that is universally
used at this time on nearly all wheeled vehicles through-
out the world where modern wagons, etc., are employed,
know^n as the Sarvcn patent. After conceiving the idea of
the new hub father constructed a set of wheels in accord-
ance therewith to demonstrate the advantage of such
wheel construction. The wheels gave practical proof of
all he claimed for the invention. He delayed or rather
procrastinated in his application for the patent so long
that when he did apply he was just too late— a patent had
been issued to other parties.

To return to the subject of early day politics. As I
remember the Presidential campaigns of my early youth,
the pre-election day work was conducted much the same
as in modern times. Only then the displays were some-
what cruder. The first attempt at anything of uniforms

— 12 —

My First Years in California

in political parades that I recall was at the time of Lin-
coln's first election when Republican organizations, called
"Wide-Awakes," wearing glazed capes and caps, were
a feature of the torchlight parades. The visit of some
renowned speaker would be the occasion of a grand
rally. Partisans would gather from near and far, and a
parade generally preceded the speaking, with illumina-
tion of the buildings along the line of march, the occu-
pants of which were in sympathy with the paraders.
In view of the great advance made in the use of elec-
tricity for illuminating purposes, the illumination dem-
onstrations of those early days would be very tame affairs
in this day. At the time to which I refer there were no
gas works in any California city or town. People had
to be satisfied with oil, a burning fluid called camphene,
or candles. The latter were more generally used in mak-
ing the illuminations of the houses along the line of march
of the parades. The candles were cut in short lengths,
which were fastened on strips of board the width of the
window to be illuminated. These strips of board with
the candles lighted were fastened into the window casings,
spaced from six to eight inches apart. This arrangement
would give from twenty-five to fifty or more pieces of
candles burning in a window. When nearly all the win-
dows on both sides of a street were thus lit up it was
considered in those days something of a display. As may
be imagined, candles thus arranged were not infrequently
the cause of houses getting on fire.

The relation of these features of old-time political cam-
paigns leads me to what might be considered a digression
in my story. This may be true, but I know no better
place to introduce some history of California political
methods and incidents of campaign work of years gone
by that are not only matters of interest, but enable one
to appreciate the progress we have made in improving
the purity of the ballot and practices at elections.

— 13 —

CHAr^lKR II

(H,I)-TIMK KI.KCriON MKIJIdDS

Some Heretofore Unpublished Fads About ihe Notorious
Tapeworm Election Ticket — Incidents That Led to
the Uniform Ballot in California

When the citizen who has been a voter for nearly fifty
years in California looks back to the time he cast his first
vote and makes notes of the alterations that have taken
place in the method of conducting elections, he finds radi-
cal changes have been effected, not only in the individual
conduct of the voters at the polling places and the man-
ner of receiving and registering votes, but in the balloting.

It is hard to realize in these days of well ordered, qui-
etly conducted elections, even of the greatest importance,
that, in old times, election days were almost universally
days of excitement, not infrequently of rioting, and were
always conducted amid much activity, blustering, and evi-
dence of excessive indulgence in free liquor.

One of the first steps, if not the very first, toward a
more orderly condition was the passage of the law by
our State Legislature closing saloons on election days.
While the immediate effect was not total abstinence from
intoxication on election days, for at first the more bold
saloon men would leave their back entrances open to
relieve the "thirst of excitement," the improvement was
so marked that public opinion subsequently gave its
strong support to the law and insisted upon its enforce-
ment to the very letter. While liquor played its part in
making elections disorderly and dreaded by all peace-
loving citizens, there were other causes more potential;
chief among these were the method of voting, the prep-

— 1i —

Old-Time Election Methods

aration of the tickets to be voted, and the employment of
"workers" or men to supply voters with tickets of the
different parties. These "workers" made their reputa-
tions as efficient politicians by attracting the attention
of the "higher-up" in the political game by their activity
in working off tickets on voters, and the number of men
they would bring up to the polls to vote the tickets they
peddled. Some worked for glory; some worked for so
much per day in dollars and cents; others worjced with
the expectation of future recognition in nominating con-
ventions, or placement in political positions for services
rendered, and it may be said here that the latter con-
sideration was one of the most demoralizing features of
the election system of those days. Each side furnished
its own election tickets or ballots, and these were pre-
pared by the party managers and such independent candi-
dates as might be in the field. As a rule, a great deal of
ingenuity was manifested in getting up the tickets, so as
to make them attractive and to give party or distinctive
character to them. They were printed on paper of vari-
ous textures, color, and sizes, as the party managers
thought the conditions demanded. Great care was given
to the printed headings and the selection of mottoes and
devices.

The tickets were, as a rule, prepared with the greatest
secrecy possible, and kept under lock and key until the
last possible moment before use. This was considered
necessary to prevent opposing parties counterfeiting a
ticket and imposing bogus ones on the unsuspecting
voter, who scarcely looked further than the heading of
his ticket to be sure he was voting for the Republican
or Democratic party, as might be his preference. There
were times and occasions when this matter assumed very
great importance, and committees were delegated to
remain with the printers to receive the tickets as fast as
printed, and in other ways prevent any knowledge of

— 15 —

{{(•(■(fllfclioiis of (I XrivspdiicniKm

llirir loiiii :iihI iliaraclci- Iroiii gi-lliiig into the hands of
llic ciicmy. liul with :ill lliis care, sonictiines llic stylo and
cliarachr ol tickets hccanic known to opjioncnts, tlirough
ways lliai would iiol always bear investigation. Not infre-
([uently the printing of ballots would not be trusted to
the |)iinters of the town or city where they were to be
used, and the printing olticcs of other or neighboring
places would be lesorled to. So with the care and vigi-
lance exercised to conceal all knowledge of the character
of the ballot to be used, there were times when it was
impossible to obtain the desired advance information.

In those years party lines were tightly drawn. The joss
of social standing and more frequently the loss of posi-
tions of employment, especially if the employment was
under the government, state, or city, was the penalty of
a person voting an opposition ticket, or even voting for
a candidate other than the one of his own party ticket.
Hence it may be understood what part the peculiar form
of a ballot played in keeping tab on voters when they
stepped up to the ballot box to cast their votes. Each
side did everything to encourage desertions from the
other and to protect those voters from detection who
wished to come secretly with their whole vote or part.
For this reason, when the form of ticket of the opposing
side could not be obtained in full, advance information
of simply the color of the paper on which the ticket was
printed would be taken advantage of when possible, and
tickets of the one party would be printed on the same
colored paper as would be used for the regular ticket by
the other party.

In Vallejo a number of years ago, before the days of
the uniform ballot or much law governing primary elec-
tions, the managers of the dominant party there had
planned to nominate a set of candidates not altogether
according to wishes of the rank and file. The popular
candidate for Sheriff had been rejected by what we now

— 16 —

Old-Time Election Methods

call the "bosses." This action called for an opposition
ticket favorable to the popular candidate by the faction
calling themselves the Independents. The "regulars"
knew the only way they could succeed was by preventing
the insurgents from obtaining advance knowledge of their
tickets, and thus interfere with the placing of "bogus"
tickets in the hands of voters who were dependent on
the party managers for their daily employment, and there
was a large number of such voters.

The Independents were extremely active in their efforts
to obtain this information so important to their success.
Their scouts and agents were most active, but they waited
in vain up to midnight before the day of election for the
greatly desired copy of the "regular" ticket. Upon hasty
consultation it was decided an agent should proceed to
San Francisco and obtain a supply of all the different
colored paper possible to be used. This necessitated a
perilous rowboat trip across Carquinez Straits and the
chartering of a locomotive for the run to Oakland, but
the agent was at the doors of the San Francisco paper store
when they opened in the morning, and within two or
three hours afterward the desired stock of colored papers
was in Yny office, a printing office friendly to the Inde-
pendents. Presses were made ready with the forms of
the Independent tickets. Runners, fleet of foot, were sta-
tioned at the polls to secure a copy of the first "regular"
ticket that should show itself. The managers of the "regu-
lars" were so confident of having headed off the opposi-
tion in the matter of style of tickets that the ballots
were freely given out, but within twenty minutes, to their
great surprise, the "regulars" found the opposition had
matched the color of their ballots and these tickets were
being used to the disadvantage of the "regulars." They
immediately changed the color of their tickets, but again,
within a few moments, the insurgents had matched the
new issue. Again and again the change of color was made,

— 17 —

lii'coUcclions of (I j\('ii'sj/(ij)i'rifi(iii

only to be inot l)y the opposition. Tlic "icf^nhirs," driven
lo desperation by these tactics, linally rel'used to give
tickets to a voter except at the l)allot box, wliere he would
have no chance to exchange it loi' the ticket of the other
side witliont (let(>ction. I5y these methods the "regulars"
won the election by a narrow margin.

To return to the discussion of the causes of riotous char-
acter of the old-time election day. The ballots were sel-
dom distributed or put into the hands of the workers
until the first thing on the morning of election. Then the
fight was on. The voting places were the centers of activi-
ties and consequent excitement. The challengers were all
important personages at the polls, and they contributed,
as a rule, a goodly percentage of the causes of excitement.
It was their duty to stand close by the box in which the
ballots were deposited and closely scrutinize all the voters
of the opposing side, to prevent so far as possible the
casting of illegal, and frequently legal, votes by the enemy.
Strong, courageous, or daring men were selected for this
work, and they could, and frequently did. make things
lively. If a man presented himself to vote, and the chal-
lenger thought he was not entitled to vote or that he could
prevent his casting a vote through some technicality, he
would interpose an objection to the election officers, who
would then question the would-be voter and allow or dis-
allow the challenge. It can readily be understood how
some unscrupulous men as challengers, and others as
judges of election, could breed election day disturbances.

At every hotly contested election the offer of a chal-
lenge was the signal for a rush of bystanders as well as
the police or peace officers to the polling place, who
crowded up with craned necks to hear the details of the
challenge and the decision of the judges. As may be imag-
ined, these excited gatherings frequently broke up in fight-
ing, resulting in broken heads and scarred faces, if nothing
more serious,

— 18 —

O Id-Time Election Methods

For many years the law did not regulate the style or
character of ballot boxes used at election, and charges
of fraud, through tricky ballot boxes, were often made.
Such boxes were described as having false bottoms, under
which a supply of tickets was placed before the voting
commenced, by the side having control of the Election
Board, which would be mixed with the legitimate ballots
during the day or before the counting was begun.

In Vallejo in early times a cracker box did duty as a
ballot box for many years until some one, more observant
than usual, detected the judge of election poking ballots
through a convenient knot-hole on the back side, or that
side of the box hidden from the vision of the voters.
There is no one to tell now what influence that innocent
little knot-hole played in the political organization or
control of affairs of that section. The owner of that box
was a public official during all the years it was used, but
he was a popular man, and it is doubtful if he needed
the aid of the knot-hole to continue his term of office.

For fifteen years or more after the state was admitted
into the Union, there were no registration laws, and the
loose laws adopted first for the purpose of registering
voters were but little improvement; in fact, it is a ques-
tion whether or not some kinds of illegal voting were not
made easier and safer. It was a comparatively easy mat-
ter to stuff the register with dummy names, and then,
as one register was made to do for several years, it would
soon become loaded with the names of people who had
UTOved away or had died. It would be such names that
would be used by corrupt voters.

But around the use of the distinctive ballot, which car-
ried only the candidate names of one party, we find more
history of election scandals than anywhere else. The
abolition of the distinctive ballot was the greatest step
in election reform. The evils of its use were many. The
combination of this form of ballot with the government

— 19 —

lii'collcclioiis of (I iWctnspdprrinan

cniployiiienl condilioii cxisliiifj before llie adoption of
civil service laws was an evil of most serious import.
The use of this kind of ballot enabled employers — fed-
eral, state, city, and big corporation ollicials — to know
how the men dependent upon them lor ( inj)loyment voted.
That this advantage was commonly made use of with-
out distinction to party is undeniable. The distinctive bal-
lot made the delivery of purchasable votes comparatively
easy, with the least element of danger, both to the buyer
and seller. The buyer could tell when the seller depos-
ited his vote whether the goods had been delivered or
not. Watchers at the polls could form close estimate of
how elections were going and, no doubt, incentive to do
wrong was increased or aroused by the advance infor-
mation thus obtained.

The distinctive ballot evil culminated in 1871 by the use
in the general state and judicial elections of that year at
Vallejo of the notorious "tapeworm" ticket, and at Sacra-
mento at the same election of even a worse or more
objectionable form of ballot. The Republican party man-
agers in control of navy yard politics were responsible for
the first named, and Democrats controlling workmen
engaged on state work at the capital for the other. The
"tapeworm" ticket, however, attracted the greatest amount
of attention, perhaps for the reason that it was used on
a larger scale among a greater number of voters, and was
a more radical innovation as to form and material on
which it was printed than the ticket used at Sacramento.

The scandal raised was widespread. The subject was
even discussed in the halls of Congress, and for years
following the stigma of responsibility was applied to
nearly every person prominently connected with the
Republican side of politics in Solano County when oppo-
nents wished to use a crushing argument. In the absence
of the true history of the origin of the ticket (and the
facts were never before published), many innocent of any

— 20 —

Old-Time Election Methods

connection whatever with the origin or even use of the
ticket suffered abuse.

While the law at that time did not prescribe any form
or size of ballot, generally tickets were printed on paper
from five to seven inches in length and from two to three
inches in width; occasionally either smaller or larger sizes
of paper were used. The type used was as a rule good^
sized and plain, so as to be easily read, and admitted the
use of "pasters." These were names of opposing candi-
dates printed on narrow strips of gummed paper which
could be easily pasted over the name on the "regular"
ticket. The "tapeworm" ticket was five and one-eighth
inches long by a half inch wide, and was printed on thin
cardboard. The type used was the smallest known in
printing work (brilliant), and was seldom required; in
fact, but few printers had this kind of type in their offices.
The lettering on the tickets was printed so small and close
together that it was impossible for any one to "scratch"
a candidate's name and substitute another^ either by
paster, or pen and ink work. It either had to be voted
in its entirety or not at all. The success of the party man-
agers in thus heading off "scratching" of the ticket
incensed a large number of voters, who indignantly
refused to use this regular ticket at the polls. Some who
opposed an individual on the ticket satisfied themselves
with simply erasing the name.

At this election there was an organized effort among
some Republicans to defeat their candidate for Congress,
and in a few hours after the ticket made its appearance
the "bolters" succeeded in finding a printing office sup-
plied with brilliant type and having printed on thin
gummed paper, in fac-simile as to size and form of the
"tapeworm" ticket, the names of all the Republican can-
didates, except the one for Congress, to be used in cov-
ering the entire face of the objectionable ticket. Owing to
the difficulty in obtaining the regular ballots in quantity,

— 21 —

Hi'coUcclions of (I Nrwspaprnndit

or in ;iny coiisidi'ijihlc mmibcr, very lew tickets witii the
entire face 4)aste(l over were iound in the ballot boxes
wlien the counting of tlie votes was over.

y\ ])ecuHar jxjhtical condition existed in Valhjo at tliat
time. Tlie place had but recently come into prominence
as a prosperous town with a most promising lulure. It was
even the boast of some of its advocates that it would
become a rival to San Francisco. It had been made the
terminus of the California Pacific Railroad, the first steam
railroad from the interior to reach tidewater around the
bay. The shops and general ollices of the company were
located there. Grain dealers from Chicago were erecting
a grain elevator on the waterfront. The largest flouring
mill on the Pacific Coast was being constructed; ships
were departing almost daily with cargoes of wheat for
Europe; the navy yard was crowded with workmen as it
never had been before; in the three years from 1868 to
1871 the population had more than trebled. A great
majority of the new population were of the Republican
faith in politics, so the political complexion of the com-
munity changed from a slight Republican to an over-
whelming Republican majority. One of the results of
this change was that the newcomers captured the Repub-
lican organization. There were many politicians in their
ranks, especially those employed in the navy yard, hav-
ing secured positions there because of their previous polit-
ical influence or usefulness in political matters. The new
men made themselves prominent in all Republican gath-
erings and assumed authority and position, all of which
was irritating to the old-timers, and was naturally resented
to some degree. Then again, some of the new men came
as appointees to positions in the navy yard, which the
old-timers thought belonged to them. Thus factional con-
ditions arose. The newcomers were dubbed "Carpetbag-
gers" and the old-timers were referred to as "Silurians."
The conditions became more acute when the former

— 22 —

Old-Time Election Methods

captured the county convention and nominated the entire
county ticket, the majority of the nominees being from
their ranks, the most of whom had been in the county
but a few months. As a matter of course, they named and
took control of the county committee. It was this com-
mittee which was responsible for the "tapeworm" ticket.
The individual responsibility was never made public, and
probably never will be. After the notoriety created by
the use of the ballot every one accused denied connection
with it. Although I do not possess positive information, it
is my judgment that the party who planned the ticket was
never accused.

This person was a deputy in one of the county offices
and did not live in Vallejo. A few years ago the writer,
in conversation with this ex-official, remarked that he,
the official, ought to give the true history of the "tape-
worm" ticket to the public, as he was the only one who
possessed all the facts. He replied, saying that, while it
might be true, he could not talk while some of the prin-
cipals connected with the issue and use of the ticket
were alive. Not very long after this time he, himself,
passed away.

It is known that the tickets were printed in the printing
department of a large publishing house in San Francisco,
which retired from business some years ago; and after
printing (h^y were given into the custody of the official
above referred to, who delivered them into the possession
of one of the principal county candidates the night before
the election. From the latter's possession they were dis-
tributed to the foremen of the navy yard and some other
political workers, who in turn placed them in the hands
of the voters under their control.

While voters were accustomed to many curious forms
of printing in tickets, the appearance of the "tapeworm"
ticket created a storm of indignation, especially mani-
fested among the old-timers, as it was interpreted to be

— ?,'? ._.

lircollcclioiis of ft S rinsjxijx'i'iiKtn

:i (Icvifc lo (hive tlint r.iclion iiilo sii|)|)()ii ol llif "C>ar-
pclhaj^" nomiiu't's.

Early in llic day, or very soon al'Ur llic cxistLiicc of the
ticket was known, on the morning of election day, a gath-
ering of old-timers quickly assembled, by co!iinion
impulse, in the law ollices of Honorable S. G. Hilborn,
subsequently Congressman from the third district, just
as they had gathered there frequently before to give
expression to their feelings of indignation and opposition
to other acts of the "Carpetbaggers."

The question now was, what they should do or even
could do to show their resentment and demonstrate their
independence of this crowning act of the presumptuous
and domineering newcomers.

As might be expected, there was much heated talk
before anything practical demanded by the situation was
considered or suggested. To a man, those present swore
they would not vote the "tapeworm" ticket, even if such
resolution cost them their right to vote. This unanimity
of feeling suggested to me, one of the rebellious Repub-
licans present, the idea of having a ticket printed at once
for use of every one to whom the "tapeworin" ticket was
repugnant or objectionable, and I promised, at my own
expense, to have printed and distributed on the streets
in thirty minutes a ticket containing all the names of the
regular Republican nominees in a form which no one
need be ashamed to put in the ballot box. The offer was
accepted with enthusiasm, as it afforded a method of
expressing independence of the "organization" and resent-
ment against the attempt to compel all Republicans to
vote a straight ticket, whether disposed to or not.

It happened that at the office of the Vallejo Chronicle
there was an efficient printing plant. The compositors on
the newspaper were called to the job department and
the copy for the tickets was divided up into small "takes"
with instructions to set the type in plain letter, pica, as
— 2^ —

Old-Tinie Election Methods

it was then known, with the title of the office in small
capitals and the name of the candidate in capitals, run in
the same line. This style was selected as being the quickest
way the type could be set up.

For better illustration, the first two names on the ticket
are here produced in the style and kind of type used :

For Governor, NEWTON BOOTH.

For Lieutenant Governor, ROMUALDO PACHECO.

Two forms of the ticket were put in type in about ten
minutes. In the meantime, or while the type was being
set up, two presses were being made ready for the work.
There happened to be on hand a large quantity of white
book paper cut in strips of four inches in width, which
only required to be cut into 12-inch lengths to be ready for
the pressmen on which to print the new form of ticket.

These details now have probably more interest because
of the fact that this hastily gotten up ticket was really
the beginning or birth of the subsequently popular uni-
form ballot in California, as will be seen later.

To the satisfaction of the old-timers, the tickets were
being distributed on the streets in less than the half hour
promised, and the cause of serious friction was in a great
measure overcome. Notwithstanding the ability now of
the independent voter to scratch and paste to his heart's
content, there was not enough of this kind of work done
to affect the result. In truth, the majority of the insur-
gents voted the straight ticket. The entire ticket was
elected, and the "tapeworm" ticket passed into history, its
like never to be seen again, with the possible exception
of the ticket used at the judicial election held several
weeks later, though the tickets for both the general and
judicial elections were printed at the same time. With'
the idea of removing the selection of judicial officers from
those baneful influences ordinarily dominating elections,
the times for the election of the general officers and judges
were separated. 25—^

/{rcoUccliorts of a Mrinsjjapcrnuiii

Tlic ncm()ci-;ilic- ii(\\.s|);ii)crs ^avc Iho mailer iiiiuli space
in (liMiiiiKialioii of llic ik-w jxililical iiioiislrosity. Some
editors wi'iil so far as lo (lemand Ilia I llic vote of tlie
Vallejo district should be thrown out. Strange to say,
the Democratic ticket used in Sacramento at the same
election attracted but little attention, and even that criti-
cism might have been less had not a Democratic leader
and contractor attempted to get at the ballots after the
election to check up the numbers placed on the tickets he
had given out to his men.

This election ticket was printed in as small and compact
form as possible. The names of candidates were twisted
and intertwined, one lapping over another and intermin-
gled like a bunch of angleworms, so that there could be
no "pasting" of names or voting anything but a straight
ticket, and so marked on the back as not to be counter-
feited, but the worst feature was that each ticket was
numbered and the record of the number set down
against the name of each workman to whom the tickets
were given.

The discussion that followed the introduction and use
of the "tapeworm" ticket throughout the land from the
Pacific to the Atlantic aroused the people to a sense of
necessity for a passage of some law governing the size
and form of election tickets. Therefore, at the session
of the Legislature which followed the election of 1871.
a state uniform ballot law was passed and approved by
the Governor. In this law the Legislature, in selecting
a form of ticket to be used thereafter, adopted the form
and style of ticket so hastily improvised by the indepen-
dent or insurgent element of the Republican party in Val-
lejo, in showing their resentment to the "tapeworm"
ticket. The new law followed not only the arrangement
of title of office and candidate's names, but the kind and
size of type, size and kind of paper, used at the Vallejo
election; also required that all the paper should be pur-

— 26 —

Old-Time Election Methods

chased of the Secretary of State, and thus uniformity in
tint and texture was secured.

So the "Carpetbaggers" builded better than they knew.
They laid the foundation for the uniform ballot law, one
of California's most progressive steps in election reform.

The use of election tickets devised for the purpose of
compelling voters to vote according to the wishes of party
managers, depriving them of the privilege to express any
individual preference for candidates other than regular
nominees, became more and more objectionable, as time
brought around some measure of release from the strict
adherence to party rule existing during, and for some
years following, the Civil War. So the time was ripe for
a movement in reform, and when some thoughtful legis-
lator, prompted by the Vallejo and Sacramento incidents,
suggested the uniform ballot, it was immediately adopted.

The law continued in force until the people were ready
for another forward step, and the uniform ballot gave way
to the adoption of the so-called Australian ballot, which
gave to the voters greater independence and privacy.
These improvements in political conditions extended
beyond advantages and privileges bestowed upon the
voter; for in times when party managers could control
the action of voters by the use of special ballots there
was less reason to listen to popular voice in selection of
candidates, and there was at least a tendency to place
men on the tickets and elect them to offices, their quali-
fication for which was the least consideration.

Forty years or more have elapsed since the beginning
of the reform in the methods of holding elections in
this state; nearly two generations of voters have been
born and come upon the field of active politics; and, meas-
ured by the span of human life, these measures of reform
have been slow of growth, and to the younger voters
the progress probably has been hardly perceptible, but,
measured by the life of the nation, the growth is marked
and most gratifying. ^^

CHAPTKIi m

KAHLY DAYS !N SACRAMENTO

Money in Pleiilij [or Hoys as Well as Adults — Boyhood
Adventures — The "Old Swimming Hole" Nearly
Scores a Victim — An Epidemic of Gunpowder Explo-
sions Explained

To RETURN to the experiences of my childhood in Sacra-
mento. In the '50s it was easy for hoys to make spending
money. As peaches were selhng at from 25 cents to
50 cents apiece, and a dollar for extra large, choice fruit,
the pits had considerable value. I do not remember how
much per hundred pits the fruit men gave, for most of
the youngsters like myself preferred to trade in to the
fruit men a dozen pits as we accumulated them for a
peach or two. Peach pits therefore were a medium of
exchange with the boys of that period until the orchards
became more extensive and the market for pits was
glutted for all time to come. It was a common thing for
the boys after school to drift around the business section
of the city, where the fruit stands were located, and trail
a purchase of peaches to recover any peach pits that
might have been thrown away.

There were no "rags, bottles, and sacks" men in those
days, so the boys had the business all to themselves.
Empty wine and champagne bottles sold to the liquor
men for $1.50 per dozen. As money was plentiful and
everybody received large profits on whatever he sold,
and received big pay in compensation for all services
rendered, many wine and champagne bottles were emp-
tied to the gain of the youngsters ever alert to gather
them up. A good burlap or potato sack had a ready mar-

— 28 —

Early Days in Sacramento

ket value of a "bit" apiece, which might be 10 cents or
15 cents, according to the convenience in making change.
Everything of value of less than a dollar was priced in
"bits," that is, "one bit," "two bits," "four bits," etc., the
"bit" being one-eighth of a dollar or I21/2 cents. As there
was no coin to represent one bit, 10 cents would be
accepted in payment for a one bit purchase; or, if a
purchaser proffered a 25-cent piece, he only received a
10-cent piece in exchange. Five-cent pieces were not used.
I remember offering a fruit vendor a silver 5-cent piece
for a banana. The fellow took the coin and threw it into
the street as far as he could send it. At drug stores the
minimum price of any article was 25 cents. As late as in
1879, to avoid the recognition or use of nickels, it was
seriously proposed by some prominent newspaper of the
state to introduce the French franc or 20-cent piece.

Old cast-iron was salable at a foundry on Front Street
at 5 cents per pound. Consequently, the boys gathered up
such metal as fast as it was discarded as useless. I was
once given an old, worn-out cooking stove by a party
living a number of blocks away from the foundry. As the
stove weighed over sixty pounds, I had a hard time in
transporting it to the foundry. I took a good part of one
Saturday, the only day I had from school, to deliver
the iron, but with the aid of a couple of small wooden
cart wheels, dragging, pushing, and pulling, I finally man-
aged to get it to the foundry. I was near to a state of
collapse, but revived when the foundryman paid me some-
thing like $3.50. I think the spirit of determination to
accomplish anything I undertook to do was strongly devel-
oped in my boyhood days, but I am not so sure that I
would have accepted the gift of another old stove, condi-
tioned on my delivering it to the foundry myself.

Probably the greatest and most common source of prof-
its for boyish enterprise was the gathering of old tin cans,
such as were used for oysters, fruits, etc., and burning the

— 29 —

Hccollrclions of (i Nrinspa/jriindii

soldti- od". This solder when rccox crcd and iiin into bars
was imicli desired by the tinsmiths, wlio paid something
like 50 cents per pound lor it.

Those were days of high prices for everything, big
wages, abundance of money, no poverty, and little
thievery, the like of which in all probability will never be
experienced here again.

When 1 was about ten years old I had an adventure,
the experience of which frightened me thoroughly. My
folks permitted me to go on a visit to a friend of theirs
who was mining on the American River in the vicinity
of Folsom. After a narrow escape from falling into a
big mining ditch filled with swift running water and the
performance of some other acts which were undoubtedly
classed by the elders as mischievous, I strayed away
some distance from the house, thence to the river bank,
which at this point was probably 150 feet above the bed
of the stream where the water was flowing. I was seized
with a desire to get down to the water. It seemed sim-
ple enough. The bank where I stood was perpendicular
for the first six feet and consisted of earth. From the
foot of this six-foot bluff lay a bank of big cobblestones
extending on a slope of about 45 degrees all the way to
the bed of the stream. I had calculated that all I had
to do was to drop off' the bank of earth to the cobble-
stones and then walk down the remainder of the dis-
tance. I laid down on my stomach and slid over the
bank, holding on until the greater part of my body was
over the edge, completing the rest of the journey with a
drop, landing with a jar, which closed the first chapter
of the adventure.

Finding I was not seriously damaged, I started down
the bank of cobblestones. I had not gone far, possibly
thirty feet, when, to my horror. I discovered my feet
were displacing the stones so as to start the pile behind
and above me to rolling down on me, and if I went any

— 30 —

Early Days in Sacramento

further I calculated I would be treated to a shower of
cobbles, nearly every one of which was as large as my
head. As I could not travel down the slope faster than
the cobblestones, unquestionably I would be crushed to
death before I could possibly reach the river. So I deter-
mined to retrace my steps, but I soon found that to do so
was a inatter of grave uncertainty, for when I attempted
to move directly up on the cobbles, my feet movements
would displace the stones and start those above to roll-
ing. I fully realized now 1 was in a bad predicament,
and my getting out of it was a serious question. Although
thoroughly scared, I did not lose my presence of mind.
I found that if I remained quiet the cobbles did like-
wise. So I laid down flat on the rocks and set my mind
in action working out a plan of escape. I soon conceived
the idea that by working upward at an angle from my
position, though the rocks were displaced by my for-
ward movements, I would be out of the way of the
greater part of the rolling cobbles which must pass behind
me. This reasoning, in the main, proved correct, and after
hard work and a few bumps at short range I reached
the top of the pile of cobbles and the foot of the six-
foot embankment. But here another dilemma was pre-
sented. How was a four-foot boy going to be able to
climb up that six feet of perpendicular embankment?
While considering this I thought of a story I had read
of a man escaping from a similar position by cutting
niches for his hands and feet in the wall as he worked up.
Luckily I had a good, strong knife and, finding a place
in the embankment with a trifle of a slope, I soon reached
the top, not much the worse physically, but a much wiser
boy for my experience.

The first piece of railroad laid in California, if not on
the Pacific Coast, for the operation of steam cars, was
constructed between Sacramento and Folsom, a distance
of something over twenty miles. This enterprise must

— 31 —

liiiolli'clions of (I XriPspapcriiKm

li;ivc htcn Ixj^iiii in llic yc.ir 18.");"). I icuHinher the incep-
tion of Ihc work very well. Tlu' track out ol" Siicrain(*nto
was laid on the W Street levee. The eonslruction of the
foad as well as llic siil)se([il('iil opcfalioii ol llie line
had nuKJi interest lor nie. A.s we livctl only a couple of
hlocks away from the line, I wa.s able to witness and
study the operations advantageously. The completion and
()|)(iiiii!4 of Hie road lor business were made an event of
celebration that linj^ered in the memory of Sacramentans
for many subsecpient years. This railroad line is still in
operation, but was extended in later years on to Placer-
ville. During an early period of the undertaking of the
construction of the Central Pacific by Stanford, Hunting-
ton, and Crocker the Folsom road became a menace to
their enterprise in the way of a competitor for the bounty
of the government in building a railroad across the con-
tinent. After some months of negotiation the Central
Pacific bought the line.

The R Street levee, which served as a road bed for the
Folsom railroad, was originally built for the sole purpose
of protecting the city from flood waters on the south side.
The greater part of the earth forming the levee was taken
from trenches paralleling the embankment on both sides,
but as the trenches did not supply sufficient earth
a few big pits were dug on the south side of the levee,
from which the extra earth was obtained. These pits
filled with water in the winter and made "swimming
holes" for the boys in the summer. The one at the foot
of Fifth Street was the largest and most popular, and it
was there, before I had learned to swim, that I w^as nearly
drowned. T "went in swimming" with the usual crowd
of boys, and I jumped into the water at a place where
it was considerably over my head. The boys who saw
me go in said that the only part of me showing after
jumping in was my hair or the top of mv' head. I knew
that 1 was drowning, but suffered no pain, but a peculiar
— 32 —

P.O£

Early Days in Sacramento

feature of the incident was that I was conscious of the
frantic efforts of the boys on shore to attract the atten-
tion of the swimmers to my condition, and that finally
one of the large boys understood what was wanted and
was coming across the pond to my aid, and that there was
a query in my mind whether he could reach me soon
enough. Of course, the physical sight of the boys on
shore and the lad coming to my rescue was impossible,
for I was under and out of sight in very muddy water,
but in some way all the efforts to rescue me were as
visible as if 1 had been out of the water and a spec-
tator on the bank. Another peculiarity of the affair was
that in the short tiine I was under the water every event
of my life seemed to run through iny mind, and it seemed
as if I could see all at once everything and everybody
in the world I was familiar with. Where the people were
and what was going on, and the frightened antics of my
chums and the coming of my rescuer were all part of
this remarkable panorama. When the latter reached me
he grabbed me by my hair and soon, with the aid of
others, had me out on shore. I was not unconscious, and
within an hour was able to go home. As might be
expected, this experience put a stop to my visits to the
"swimming hole" for a long time.

To relieve the minds of those who may read this story,
I must say I never believed in mankind possessing occult
powers, and I never held to any theory in explanation
of the phenomenon described. However, it has undoubt-
edly served to strengthen my belief that there are secrets
about this life on earth and the passing out of it not yet
revealed to us.

When the discovery of gold in California caused the
stampede of fortune hunters from the Eastern states in
'49 and '50, every old tub of a sailing craft that could
be got hold of was purchased in Atlantic harbors and
used to bring passengers and supplies to California.

— 33 —

I\C(()U('< lions of (I \fii>sp(i[}('rm(iii

When llusf vessels .inived in S;iii l-r;nieise() liiirljor they
were ahnosi ininiechwlely deseiied liv Ihe crews, an<l only
ji very sni;ill pcreenlai^c of Ihe crafts ever passed out of
the (lohien (late a^ain. The result was that within a few
months there were a f^reat many of these ohl hulks tied
up near shore and at anchor in the bay. They became
useful as slorai^c places in the absence of warehouses,
and, when hauled up against the shore, as landinf^ places
for steamers plying on the bay and rivers. As a rule,
when used this way and as warehouses, the top masts
were removed and a hip roof constructed over the deck
from bow to stern, and they were commonly called
"hulks."

At Sacramento the entire river front was filled with
hulks, from I Street down to P Street, moored to the
levee, used as steamer landings, warehouses, etc. The
one near I Street was used as a jail for several years, and
undoubtedly influenced the location of the county jail in
its present site. The hulk at the extreme end of the row
in the other direction was used largely for storage of gun-
powder. Some time about 1855 the seams of this old hulk
opened and let into the hold a considerable quantity of
water, so that a large part of the powder stored was
damaged. Much of this powder was in one-pound and
two-pound cans, and to get rid of it was thrown into the
river, probably with the supposition that it would sink
or the force of the stream would carry it off and thus dis-
pose of it. Gunpowder always has possessed attraction
for the small boy, and the boys of that day were no excep-
tion to the boys of modern times. It did not take them
long to discover what had taken place, or much longer
for them to recover many cans by diving to the river bot-
tom, and picking up such packages as drifted ashore.
As much of this powder still had the power of explosion,
it can be well imagined what subsequently took place in
the community. More boys were punished with scarred

— 3* —

Early Days in Sacramento

faces and powder burns within a few weeks than have
been in that city altogether since. I confess I was among
the number, and I think half the boys I knew suffered
likewise. I do not remember any fatalities, but there were
some severe injuries. Again I obtained wisdom by expe-
rience.

During the latter part of my five-years residence in Sac-
ramento I was a witness to two tragedies in real life.
One was common, such as has been enacted since the days
of Cain, and there will be repetitions in all probability
until the end of time. The other affair would be uncom-
mon now, for it was an execution of a murderer under
the old order of things, when executions were conducted
publicly.

In the first affair a Chinaman was killed by a blow on
the head from a club wielded by a boy fifteen or sixteen
years old. A half-dozen boys about that age had under-
taken to tease the Oriental. They succeeded beyond their
expectations, for he started after them, following them
with bulldog persistence. After a chase of some distance
the boys took refuge behind some cordwood piled up
along the sidewalk. One of the boys seized a four-foot
stick and when the Chinaman came up struck him on the
head, with fatal result. I came in view of the affair just
at the time the Chinese was felled. The affair happened
near Chinatown and caused great excitement among the
residents of that locality, but I never heard of any arrest
being made on account of it.

The execution referred to took place in the open field
just outside of the eastern part of the town, some little
distance beyond the residence district, I should say not
very far east of the present State Capitol grounds.

The gallows was erected a day or so before the day set
for the hanging. The victim in this case was also a China-
man, who had been tried in the courts and convicted of
killing a countryman. A military company formed a

— 35 —

KcroUrclions of <i iXrinspaperman

hollow s(|ii,irc ;ii()1iihI llic f^allows inside of which none
hill Ihc (•ondriiincd ;iiid oIliciMls were allowed. The crowd
of speclalors, of which lher(> were several hiiiidred, feath-
ered on Ihe onlside ol' the hues ol soldiers. 1 said 1 was
a witness, hul it was only in a general way. With a lot
of other hoys 1 went to the .scene of execution early
enough to gratify my curiosity as to the construction
of the gallows, hut when the procession accompanying
the oHicers and the condemned approached the place I
ran oil to a distance, hut only stood long enough to
observe some of the preparations; then when I thought
it was near time for the fatal drop I turned my back and
ran for home. There were a number of boys present as
well as a few women, but it must be said to their credit,
especially the women, that they stood back some dis-
tance and it was only the men who crowded up close
enough to witness the gruesome details. The horror of
that scene remained with me for many, many years.
It was one of the last public executions held in the state,
for the Legislature soon afterward passed a law requir-
ing that death penalty proceedings should be conducted
privately, admitting to the scene a certain number of
witnesses only. Subsequently, the law was again changed
providing that all executions should be carried on at the
state prisons instead of within the county jails.

I suppose everybody has noticed the after-elTect a visit
of a circus to a community has on the boys. Well, this
execution of the Chinaman had much the same influence
on the boys of Sacramento, but instead of erecting minia-
ture circuses, turning cartwheels, etc., the youngsters were
building miniature gallows of sizes suitable for the exe-
cution of grasshoppers, to the hanging of dogs. A bank-
er's son living in our neighborhood erected one of the
latter, but I believe his parents demolished the affair
before he secured a victim. Such was one of the baneful
influences of public executions. The action of the Legis-

— S6 —

Early Days in Sacramento

lature gave evidence of the rise of social order to a higher
plane.

The facts just related are not pleasant things to write
about, and my first thought was to omit the incidents,
but afterward I concluded that it was from the portrayal
of events as they occur that subsequent generations
obtain their knowledge of what has happened before their
time and by which they would be able to measure the
advance of social conditions in California.

I became interested in Sunday-school attendance as
soon as I learned to read, and this reminds me the first
book I ever read through from cover to cover was "Pil-
grim's Progress." I found the book on my way to school
one morning. The copy was profusely illustrated, and to
understand the meaning of the pictures I was compelled
to read some of the text. So in this way I became inter-
ested in the story and read the book through with benefit,
I am sure, to my character in after life and which opened
my mind to the pleasures to be found in books. I read
many other good books, but none made the impression
on my mind like this book, found in the street. One of
the very first churches to be established in Sacramento
was the Congregational, which was presided over by Rev-
erend Benton. He was a fine gentleman and popular, and
always had a good congregation. I attended the Sun-
day school for several years. The First Baptist Church,
presided over by Reverend Shuck, who had passed some
of his earlier years as a missionary in China, was another
strong organization. I also attended the Sunday school
of this church, which was held before the regular morning
services. Here I had for a teacher Major E. A. Sherman,
whom I met fifty years afterward when I took up resi-
dence in Oakland. Major Sherman took much interest
in boys. In one of his efforts to occupy the minds of
the boys in things that were best for them he planned
an organization similar to the boy scouts of the pres-

ent time.

— 37

*y r; /-r. «; i^y^y

Ixrcollrclioiis of a Newspaperman

The major was a vclcraii of the Mexican War, tluire-
fore versed in army (aclics, and tlie boys were organized
into a company and drilled in marching. Arrayed in
blue silk sashes with tinsel rosettes and banners and flags,
we paraded to good advantage on several occasions.
To the last days of his life the major liked to talk about
his company of boys. He was very proud of the work,
for he said the boys all made good after reaching man-
hood.

It was at this Baptist church at a Sunday school exhi-
bition I made my first attempt to appear before an audi-
ence. My Sunday school teacher said I must select a
piece, commit it to memory, and recite it at the exhi-
bition. I submitted the matter to my mother, but she
failed to refer me to any selection meeting my idea of
appropriateness, so I went to an old gentleman I knew
who kept a lumber, coal, and wood yard, who 1 thought
was wiser than anybody, but as a matter of fact on sub-
jects of this kind he knew less. He picked up a copy of
the morning paper and after looking over a page or two
clipped out an article on the subject of poetry of not
more than 250 words, and said for me to try that. It was
about as appropriate for the occasion and as fit for a
boy of my age and appearance as for the minister to
have attempted to recite "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Up to
this period my old friend's judgment was respected by
me, and I committed the piece to memory so I could
recite it frontward and backward, although I had not the
slightest idea what it all meant. On the night of the exhi-
bition I sat on the stage with the others who were to
take part in the exercises and had begun to realize that 1
had undertaken a contract over which I had some mis-
givings as to a successful outcome. When my name was
called I mechanically stepped out to the center of the
stage. The number of people there seemed to multiply
rapidly and the lights to dance. 1 bowed my head with

— 38 —

Early Days in Sacramento

a jerky nod and commenced my recitation with the
words, "Poetry — what is poetry? "

That is as far as I was able to go. The audience as well
as myself was relieved of the painful embarrassment of
the situation by my kind teacher leading me off the stage.

By 1854 or earlier Sacramento had secured a firm hold
on the state capital, which for several years past had been
shifted around from one place to another. The first state
house was a frame structure located on I Street. I recall
seeing the members of the Legislature going in and com-
ing out of the building, and as nearly all of the members
wore silk hats, commonly called "plugs," they impressed
me as being superior individuals, and I viewed them with
awe and respect. For some time thereafter I regarded
all men wearing silk hats as being members of the
Legislature. This first state house in Sacramento was
destroyed by one of the early big fires and was replaced
by a brick structure further out on the same street. I was
present on the occasion of laying the cornerstone. The
event was celebrated in an imposing manner. The erec-
tion of the present stately capitol building was not com-
menced until after we moved away froin the city in 1857.

The state fair was another institution which enlivened
the city every year. The first pavilion exhibits were held
in the state house. Then subsequently a building was
erected for the purpose. In the early history of the fairs
gambling games of all kinds were permitted adjacent to
the fair grounds where the stock was exhibited and the
racing was had. The gambling interested me very much
and I spent a great deal of time w^atching the conduct of
various games. It did not take me long to detect the dis-
honest methods resorted to in fleecing the unwary visitors
who patronized the games. If I ever had any inclination
to gamble, my observations then were sufficient to cure it.
At this date there was no law prohibiting gambling games,
and therefore the evil business was conducted openly in

— 39 —

liccolh'clioiis of (I .\cu>sjt<ii)ciin(iii

in.iiiy |);uis of llic cily, the f^.iiiics i-iiniiiii^ iii^ht and day
ii) llasliily riiniislicd saloons, opcniiif^ upon llu; streets, so
as to attract flic people passing by. These places were
usually crowded willi |)coj)le at ni^lil. It recpiired some
years of |)ersisl( iil cllorl to stop Ihe business, but finally
legislation was secured that outlawed the Raines and con-
duct of any gambling games in public ])laces.

Sacramento was a lively city in early days, by reason
of being the place from which one must start for almost
every interior point, especially the mines. Here all pas-
senger and freight lines of transportation centered. It was
the hub. The two main business streets, J and K,
would be lined on each side during a good part of
the day with big mule teams and freight wagons loading
up for trips to the mines and other interior points. The
jangling of the little bells mounted on the harness of the
mules and horses, rumbling of truck loads of merchandise
trundled across the sidewalks from the stores to wagons,
and the shouting of teamsters and others made an ani-
mated scene, the like of wdiich will never be re-enacted
there. Aside from the little railroad line to Folsom and
the steamer lines up and down the river, all other pas-
senger transportation was by stage lines. These stage
lines were largely controlled by a powerful corporation
known as the California Stage Company. One of the lines
was operated from Sacramento to Portland, Ore. There
were several other lines of many miles in length, and
probably more than a hundred of lesser importance. The
general starting point from Sacramento was the block
on Second Street between J and K streets, and the stages
commenced loading up and leaving at an early hour of
the day, and a little later the block would be filled with
stages preparing for departures for their various destina-
tions. As the stages would leave or start out on their
journey other stages would come in and take their places.
The rush of coming and going of the stages lasted sev-

— 40 —

Early Days in Sacramento

eral hours in the morning. It was an interesting sight,
and was always attended by the presence of a crowd of
people, including travelers, their friends, and those
impelled by curiosity. The speed at which passengers
were transported depended upon the nature of the coun-
try traversed. 1 think, however, as I remember it, six
miles per hour would represent a fair average, though
there were important lines that made much better time,
making frequent changes of horses. The line from Sac-
ramento to Napa was a little over sixty miles, and the
distance was covered in about ten hours running time,
with three changes of horses. In latter years the construc-
tion of railroads running out in almost every direction
from the city put stage business in general, and the Cali-
fornia Stage Company in particular, out of business.

Father had been into two or three dilferent businesses,
but through losses by fire and otherwise he had been
unfortunate, and concluded to return to the vocation he
had been brought up in under his father, that of wagon
making and repair work. Associated with a man named
Rankin, who was a blacksmith, quite a large business
was built up by the firm in a comparatively short time.
One of the employees of the wood working department
of the shops was one of the Studebakers, who subse-
quently became a member of the famous firm of Stude-
bakers, wagon and carriage makers of Indiana. In 1880
I met this particular member of the firm in Chicago, and
in conversation, when he learned I was from California,
he became much interested and told me of his employ-
ment with father in early days in Sacramento. He gave
me pressing invitation to visit the company's big plant,
but I was unable to accept it.

Though father was doing well in a business way, it
became necessary to leave Sacramento on account of our
health. Mother, who had not fully recovered from the
effects of the sickness that seized upon her on the Isth-

_4^_

/{rcollcclions of a Nrivspapcrinan

imis, \v;is ill miicii ol llic lime, mikI lallicr ;ni(l 1 Ijotli
had chills and fovir. There was imich malaria in and
ahoiit the city at that time, and our physician advised
a chanfte of climate. It was in the spring of 1857 that we
hoarded a stage coach and after an all day's ride reached
the town of Napa. In reviewing the events of my life,
the five years spent in Sacramento seem to cover a much
longer period of years. I formed some strong attach-
ments there and it was with sadness and tears I turned
mv hack on the citv.

— *2

CHAPTER IV

REMINISCENCES OF NAPA

Beauty and Attractions of the Valley Before the Advent
of Trespass Signs — Churches, Schools, and Business
of Pioneer Days — Mining and What Led to the Dis-
covery of the Great Quicksilver Deposits — Grain
Harvesting and Its Evolution — Invention of the Steam
Thresher— Orchards and Vineyards — Wine-Making
and Its Start — Pioneer Residents of the Town and
Valley

The stage road out from Sacramento cut across the tule
basin a little north of where the railroad track lies now.
It was passable during the summer months only. The
first habitation met was a ranch about fifteen miles from
the city located on the banks of Putah Creek, owned by a
man named Davis. The home part of this ranch became
the townsite of Davisville when the railroad was built
through that locality and a station made there in 1869.
Here the first change of horses was made. As there was
no bridge over Putah Creek, the crossing was made
by driving down into the bed of the stream and fording
it. Coming out on the bank on the other or south side
of the stream there was before you a stretch of level
prairie all the way to the foothills of the Coast Range for
a distance of ten or more miles, without a single fence
or enclosure or tree, except for the roadhouse of a man
named Silva, located about a mile north of the present
site of the Town of Dixon and about five miles from
Davis.

This prairie at that time was not considered worth
fencing, but afterward, when the remarkable fertility of

— i3 —

lircollcclioiis of a Srivsjxtprnndi)

llic soil w.'is (liscoscrcd. hcc.iiiif Jihoiil llic most piodiic-
livc wliciil f^rowirif^ .section of llic sl;ilc. The owners of
il were the wcallliiesi lol of r;irniers to l)e fouinl in Jiny
one locality, and tlieii- land was unj)urchasablc.

Vacavillc was then a little town with the country tlicre-
nboiits yet undeveloped as a fruit growing section. It was
the licadcjuartcrs of stock men and a goodly part of the
inhabitants were Mexicans. We stopped here for lunch
and change of horses. After getting out of the hills south-
west of Vacaville the country was more settled and with
farms fenced, a condition which continued all the way
to Napa. This part of the route took us through Fair-
Held, the county seat of Solano County, and farther on
to the town of Cordelia.

Upon arriving at Napa we put up at the Napa Hotel.
I was tired and went to bed early and was awakened
soon after daylight by music new to my ears, but so
delightful and sweet, the impress on my memory has
never been dimmed. It was the singing of hundreds of
various kinds of wild birds, living and nesting in the
trees and brush bordering the stream flowing back of
the hotel. Perhaps my love for nature was then a fea-
ture of my character, and it made me more apprecia-
tive of the warbling of these little songsters. At any rate,
this introduction made me pleased with my new home.

It was dark when we arrived the night before, and now
in the morning the sun was shining in all the glory of
a beautiful spring day, revealing sights grand and new to
me. My delight, my pleasure, and enthusiasm were
immeasurable. All my existence of memorv' had been
passed in a country level and unbroken by so much
as a hillock, and no water but the muddy Sacramento,
and here I had been set down as if it were by magic
alongside of a beautiful stream of clear water, with
grand hills and mountains on either side so close that
I could study the trees and rocks and see the cattle feed-

— U —

Reminiscences of Napa

ing on the grassy sides. I have never ceased to love those
hills and I have never ceased to remember the pleasures
of that first view of them and the happiness 1 found for
years afterward in hunting and tramping over and
around them. 1 am sure there is not a canyon, big rock,
or clump of trees for miles around on either side of the
valley that I did not become familiar with. Napa Valley
is generally acknowledged as a garden spot of the state;
but with all the embellishment made in later years in
the process of denser settlement, and the beautifying
of country homes, the valley, more as Nature had made
it — teeming with wild life, with the freedom of those bor-
dering hills, and the beautiful creeks coming down from
the mountain sides meandering through the valley,
untrammeled by fences and unmarred by trespass signs —
was far more attractive to me; and to think of the happy
days in such surroundings is to sigh for something gone
forever.

The town in those days was known as Napa City and
contained a population not to exceed 500 people. There
were five brick buildings in the place. These were one
on the southwest corner of Main and First streets, the
two buildings adjoining south on Main Street, the court-
house (since replaced), and the Revere House, a hotel on
Second Street opposite the county building.

The business of the community consisted of five or six
general merchandise stores, one drug store, two butcher
shops, three hotels, two livery stables, one harness shop,
one wagon shop, a lumber yard, two flour mills, two ware-
houses, several saloons, a shoemaker, and a few other
business places of less importance. There was no tele-
graph or railroad connecting the town with the outside
world. A neat little side-wheel steamboat made three trips
a week to San Francisco, going down one day and back
the next. Besides there were three sailing craft, two
sloops, and a schooner plying regularlj'^ on the river.

— 45 —

HcrolU'ctions of a Xcivspapmndii

W'lun low tide in llic ii\(i' li;i|)|)( iicd ;il the hours of
llii' slcaincr's scht'diilc ol ;iirival and di-parturc, it used
a wharf four or fivi- niiks below town, and passengers
were handled between the town and thai landing by
stages.

In the suninier lime, or when harvest was on. hundreds
of Indians from the north would come to Napa and
camp with their families about the town. The steamboat
was a matter of the greatest interest to them. It was no
unconunon sight when the steamer's whistle signal of
her coming was heard to see them drop whatever they
might be doing and rush for the river bank. There they
would line up along the river side showing the greatest
interest and pleasure in witnessing the movements of the
steamer.

The Indians came to Xapa to work in the grain fields.
In those days the cultivation of wheat was about the
only farming done in the valley. It was before the days
of headers and self-binders, so the grain was simply cut
down by reapers and lay loose on the ground. The
machine was followed by several men, a sufficient num-
ber to bind it in bundles as fast as it was cut. The
Indians did this work well, and therefore found ready
employment. They generally got rid of their earnings
about as fast as received, making purchases of blankets
and trinkets in the stores, buying whiskey, and in gam-
bling. The men were inveterate gamblers. Generally they
made Sundays an exceedingly lively day. The mixing of
liquor with games of chance seems to develop about the
same degree of meanness and brutality in the red man
as in the white.

There were a number of Mexicans, people of Spanish
descent, or native Californians, as they were frequently
styled, living in the valley, the remnant of the original
settlers of that section. Some were well-to-do. being the.
owners of large land holdings and herds of cattle. They
— 46 —

Reminiscences of Napa

were hospitable people and popular with the new settlers
coming into the valley, who were destined eventually
to succeed in ownership to their homes and ranches.
Though some few descendants of those families are still
to be found in the county, there is little to distinguish
them from the ordinary citizen, and the big ranches
were long ago cut up into comparatively small holdings.

In the early '50s a very large number of the people
living in tow^n as well as those engaged in farming in
the valley were people who had come across the plains
from the State of Missouri. By their mannerisms and
peculiarity of speech they were almost as distinguishable
from other Eastern people as were those of Spanish
descent. As a rule they were a whole-souled, generous
class whose doors were ahvays open to strangers and
friends alike. The adventures, trials, and hardships expe-
rienced by these people in crossing the plains, beset with
Indians bent on murder and plunder, and here and there
murderous whites, gave them something of a heroic char-
acter in my youthful eyes. They too, like the Spanish
descendants, have disappeared as a class. Death has
removed the older generation and time has eliminated
all distinguishable characteristics of the descendants.

There was a public school held in a one-story, two-
roomed building, with two teachers. The school was not
graded. One teacher taught the smaller or primer schol-
ars, while the other teacher taught the older pupils. The
attendance, as I remember it, was somewhere between
seventy-five and a hundred scholars. For the first few^
months of my residence in Napa I was sent to a pri-
vate school, but this did not suit my democratic notions
and I prevailed upon my folks to let me go to the public
school. I enjoyed the school life there more than at any
other school I had attended. There were a number of
Spanish or Mexican boys among the pupils. As one of
the results of the contact with the "native Californians"

— 47 —

/{('collrclioiis of (I Xru'spajjcrrndu

llicrc were few of llic American l>()y.s who did not speak
sonu- Spanish, and sonic of the hoys couhl speak it as
well and Ihienlly as the Mexican lads.

I (hink Ihei'e wcic only two cluir-ch of^anizalions hold-
ing regular services when I first went to Xapa — the Pres-
hyterian and the Methodist. The Catholics huilt their
church (piite soon thereafter, however, and may Iiave
been holding services at the lime I speak of. The Epis-
copalians also established a church within a couple of
years. The Presbyterian church for about ten years was
presided over by Reverend E. P. Veeder, who was suc-
ceeded by Doctor Richard Wylie, the present minister.
Few churches in the country with a record of sixty years
of uninterrupted work can make the showing of the
church in the length of time of service of its ministers,
and unity and harmony of its memberships, the person-
ality of which must have almost completely changed in
that period. The elders of the beginning of the church
have all passed away, and the Sunday school scholars of
that time are now old men and women.

The Methodist church was a strong organization. As
w^as the custom in that denomination, the ministers were
changed at least every two years and assigned by the
state organization. In the early history of the church
some of the ministers who served there subsequently
became prominent men in the state.

Father Deyaert was the name of the priest who from
the beginning, and many years after, was the pastor of the
Catholic church. He was exceedingly popular with all
classes. He was fond of outdoor life, especially tramping
the neighboring hills and shooting quail. I met him on
such excursions several times, when we enjoyed one
another's company very much, as people generally do
when the source of their amusement lies in the same
direction. He would frequently go into saloons, not to

— 48 —

Reminiscences of Napa

scold or preach to those who happened to be in there,
but simply to be social, conversing on ordinary topics
such as would interest those he might meet. He would
drop into stores and the hotels, meeting acquaintances
and making friends. He w^as a very intelligent man, and
his generous, charitable disposition and genial manners
were the secret of his universal popularity.

If I am correct in my memory, the Baptists in the latter
part of the '50s built a small brick church, but their
numbers were too few to maintain it, and in the early '60s
it was used for educational purposes. Reverend E. P.
Veeder and a Mr. Van Dorn, a professor from a college
in Missouri that had been closed on account of the Civil
War, made an effort to establish a school in the higher
studies with the hope that it might be the beginning of
a college. This little church was used by them for the
purpose. I was one of the pupils from the beginning to
the close of the school. The teachers worked hard, but
after several months gave up the effort. With the close
of this school also ended my school days. I was now
nearly seventeen years of age and had passed the best
part of eleven years in various schools — five private and
three public. Yet J was not equipped with an ordinary
high school education. I had some little insight into
higher mathematics, and was able to translate some Latin,
but had not been given any instruction w^hatever in other
advanced studies. Beyond winning a prize for excellence
in spelling once in a public school, I am sure I never
distinguished myself for any particular brightness as a
scholar.

All through my early life I wanted to know the why
and wherefore of everything, and this disposition came
near causing my expulsion from the embryo college when
I entered upon the study of algebra. T realized this study
was essential to education in higher mathematics, but
in my dullness I could not clearly understand the neces-

— 4.9 —

Hrcollcclioiis of (I XciDspfipmiuin

sily mihI use ol' il, jiihI I i((|iic.st{(l llic pi-olcssor ill charge
of llic cliiss lo j^ivc ;i clcarci- cxpliiiijitioii of the principles
:iii(l piiij)()S(s (h:iii w.is fo he round in the hook. I^Lithor
Ihc IcMchcr was unahic lioni a lac); ol knowledge of the
siihjccl to make nic understand, or I was mentally loo
ohtuse to get satisfaction from his explanations. I think
the teacher and I took up the greater part of the class
hour for three or four days through my persistence to
he made accjuainted with the whys and wherefores of the
study, until I wore out the patience of a very patient
man. Finally he naturally showed his irritation by some
criticism on my mental capacity, which I resented by
expressing the opinion that he knew more about theology
than algebra. 1 probably would have omitted this inci-
dent of my school life if I had not read that Charles
Darwin had a similar experience when he undertook
to master the same study in his school days.

Another great man, Thomas Huxley, in his biography
details an incident of his schoolboy days which was so
like another experience of mine it may be of interest to
relate both, but I am sure if I had not read Huxley's
life I would not have referred to mine. I never was very
proud of it. Huxley says : "Almost the only cheerful remi-
niscence in connection with the place [his school' which
arises in my mind is that of a battle I had with one of
my classmates, who bullied me until I could stand it no
longer. I was a very slight lad, but there was a wild-
cat element in me which when roused made up for
lack of weight, and I licked my adversary effectively.
We made it up, and thereafter I was unmolested." Hux-
ley says some years afterward he was shocked to be told
by a groom who brought him his horse in Sydney that
he was his quondam antagonist. In my case, beyond the
cause, the battle, and result, the parallel ceases. I did not
become a great man, nor my adversary a groom, but he
did become an admiral in our navy. My battle. I think,
— 50 —

Reminiscences of Napa

was a more pretentious affair than Huxley's, for when
it became known that my adversary and I were to fight
our companions insisted the combat should be conducted
under the prize-ring rules. We fought for nearly three-
quarters of an hour, taking rests every few minutes, which
were determined by the referee. During these rests we
refreshed ourselves in turn at a well pump near-by.
Finally my opponent acknowledged he was bested.
I might have been defeated, but my persistence would not
admit it, and I hung on until he declared he had had
enough, and we went to our homes. Afterward, like Hux-
ley and his opponent, "we made it up," anl became insep-
arable friends.

The Methodists made a more pretentious effort to estab-
lish a college. They erected a three-story brick building
of sufficient size for school rooms and apartments for
boarding scholars. The cornerstone of the building was
laid with considerable ceremony. This must have been
before 1860. When the building was completed the col-
lege was well attended by young ladies and young men,
the majority of whom were from other parts of the state.
It was conducted for several years with apparent suc-
cess, but was finally closed for some reason which I do
not now recall. The building has since been torn down
and the college grounds cut up for city lots and fine
homes.

The boys of that day amused themselves much as the
boys of the present time. The games and plays were
much the same, excepting we had no football contests.
I never saw or heard of a game of football in our part
of the country while I was a boy. But boys must have
strenuous exercise to work off their superfluous spirits,
and we probably found it in hunting, fishing, and horse-
back riding and in other outdoor sports. Hunting trips in
the mountains, camping out in the most primitive way,
relying wholly on our skill with gun and rod for our prin-

— 51 —

lircollrclioiis of (I \ciiKspnprrni(in

ci\),i\ food \v;is llu- mosl (IcIi^liHul j);istimc of iiKiiiy
of us hoys. I shall iicvci- forget Uic experience of my
lirsl night in camping out. The father of a chum of
ahout my age, vvliich llien was about twelve years, owned
considerable land at the head of Xapa Valley where at
that time there were but few settlers. The country was
about as wild as any frontier section. The house of tlie
ranch referred to was a log cabin affair and but little of
the huid was under fence. Wild animals and game were
plentiful. My chum and 1 went up to the ranch for a
hunting trip. About a quarter of a mile from the cabin
there was a small patch of ground enclosed which had
been planted to corn and melons. As coons were play-
ing havoc with the melons, the men at the place sug-
gested that we boys take our blankets and guns and
sleep out in the cornfield and be on hand when the coons
came for their feast of melons. The idea seemed a little
"spooky" to me, but I would not show any fear and went
with my friend, as suggested. It was a beautiful, bright,
moonlight night, and we soon found a camping place.
How long we had been asleep I do not know, but the
time must have been past midnight when we were
awakened by a most terrible, blood-curdling screech that
seemed to fill the whole end of the valley with its echoes.
Without speaking, both of us immediately sat up, and
almost instantly the frightful noise was repeated, seem-
ingly nearer. Now we were on our feet, and another
screech still nearer raised the hair on the back of my
head, and sent the two of us flying to the cabin, leaving
guns and other belongings behind us. I was so scared
I would not have been surprised to have met anything
from an African lion to a Chinese dragon shooting flames
of fire from mouth and nostrils. However, we reached
the cabin without meeting or seeing the California lion
wliich had been making the frightful noise. Of course,
the older folks had much fun at our expense for some
— 52 —

Reminiscences of Napa

time afterward. Anyway, we made no further attempt
to stop the depredations of the coons.

Calistoga at this time was unknown, no town or set-
tlement being there, but the site was known as Hot
Springs, as several springs sending forth quite a flow of
hot water had been discovered. A greater part of the
grounds of the old springs properly was marshy. Some
time in the '60s the property was purchased by Samuel
Brannan, a pioneer capitalist of San Francisco, who
expended a small fortune in filling in and reclaiming
the marsh, beautifying the springs and grounds, and
erecting a hotel building and cottages. Fine driveways
were laid out and many palm trees and much expensive
shrubbery were planted, all of which had to be hauled
there from Napa by team.

When Brannan completed his work and threw the place
open to the public he named it the Calistoga Springs.
For some years it was a resort for ultra-fashionable peo-
ple. Tliis was the beginning of the town of Calistoga.
One of the springs yielded hot water which some people
imagined tasted like weak chicken soup, and it was cus-
tomary for visitors to take with them some pepper and
salt to flavor the "soup" to suit, because Nature had neg-
lected or wilfully failed to add these necessary condi-
ments, possibly recognizing the difficulty cooks have in
flavoring edibles to suit all comers.

Some years later a faker claimed to have discovered
that this spring was yielding pure gold in solution.
He announced, after a period of experimentation, that
he had also found a way to recover the precious metal
in a solid or metallic form. To corroborate his statements
he exhibited some small bars of gold which he claimed
he had recovered from the spring waters. The gold was
forwarded to the mint with a good deal of display, but
for some reason the public did not become excited, which

— 53 —

lircollffh'ons of a iWcinspaperman

fact seemed lo (lisi^iisl Hie diseoN cfcr, loi" lie soon ;il>;iii-
(Joned llie spring* nnd lefl tlie coimliy.

Prior and subse((iiciit lo this event tiiere was ^eiiiiiiie
mininf^ excitement, based on the actual discovery ol vahi-
ahle minerals in the mountains adjacent to Calistoga.
Somewhere ai)out hSf)? a man found on one of tiie flanks
of Ml. SI. Ilek'na, which lowers above Calistoga lo the
north, a piece of detached rock or float which he thought
worth investigating, lie brougiit the rock to Xapa and
showed it lo Doctor Stilhvagon, who was thought to know
more about such things than any one else in town. The
doctor took the sample and said in the course of a few
days he would be able to determine what it contained.
He sent the rock to an assayer in San Francisco, and
was able on the findings of the assayer to inform the
finder it was rich in gold and silver, and advised him
to hunt for the place from whence it came. If he should
be able to locale the source he possibly would have a
rich mine. All this soon became generally known, with
the result that the mountains around the northern and
eastern part of Calistoga were the field for the operations
of many prospectors. During this hunt for the gold and
silver deposit a prospector found croppings of quite an
extensive deposit of mineral bearing rock, quite unlike
what they had been looking for, but thinking it worth
investigating the discoverer took a sample to Doctor Still-
wagon, who by the same process as in the other case
found it was cinnabar or quicksilver ore. This was the
beginning of quicksilver mining in Napa and Lake coun-
ties, which for many years was an important industry of
that section. By this find the minds of the prospectors
were diverted from the search for gold and silver to
hunting for other deposits of cinnabar. Several good
mines were found, some of which arc still in operation.

About fifteen years afterward a ledge carrying good
values in gold and silver was found on the eastern side
— 54 —

Reminiscences of Napa

of Mt. St. Helena a short distance above where the high-
est point of the old toll road crossed the mountain. This
find caused a very great excitement and the whole coun-
try thereabouts was covered with location notices. After-
ward the place was brought into notice as Silverado in
one of Robert Louis Stevenson's novels. People in all
walks of life caught the fever. A small town called Sil-
verado sprang up on the mountain side and considerable
work and money were expended in shafts and tunnels, but
no ledge of consequence other than the original was
found. A couple of well known and experienced Com-
stock miners, Archie Borland * and Coll. Dean, bought
the discovery claim, put up a mill, and proceeded to work
their mine, producing considerable bullion, something
like $80,000, I was informed by one of the owners. Some
skeptical people insisted that the owners of the mine
brought the bullion from their Nevada mines, hidden in
supplies shipped from San Francisco to the mines, then
sent it back to San Francisco by express as the product
of the mill. There was little or no foundation for the
story. I was an owner of a claim from which I was able
to extract a few tons of ore which, upon milling, yielded
about $10 per ton. The life of the district was short, for
in a few months the ledge of the original mine suddenly
gave out. It was cut off by a fault and the owners were
unable to locate the continuance of the ore body. Some
years subsequently another deposit of similar ore was
found lower down the mountain side which was said to
have yielded some profit.

In 1857 the farmers of Napa valley devoted their efforts
almost exclusively to the production of wheat. As the
yield was large and the prices obtained for their crops
big, they were as a rule well rewarded for their efforts.

*A son of Archie Borland is the senior member of the important contracting
firm now constructing the great dam for the East Bay Water Company in San
Pablo Canyon, near Berkeley, Gal.

Krcdlhulidiis of <i Scinsixipfrmdii

Harvest liiiK s made llic \all( y ol' Napa a very lively place
llirouf^lioiil (lie siimiiu'i'. I'liv work ol liarvcstinj^ us it
was c-oii<liK-lc(l ill lliosc days r('(|iiirc(l the labor of many
liands which were rcc-riiilcd Iroiii every j)Ossil)le place,
incliidiii^' Ihe Iiuhans lierclorore menlioned. These work-
men spent llieir money freely in town, and on Sundays
were present there in large numbers. Tlie coming and
going of luindreds of teams and wagons engaged in bring-
ing Ihe wheal crop to the warehouses in town were no
small part of tlie daily business activity.

I have already described how the wheat crop was cut
and bound into bundles. The bundles were shocked or
collected into piles of a dozen or so and allowed to
remain a few days in the field. The theory was that any
immature berries or grain that might be in the crop
would be ripened and filled by the sap remaining in the
stalk or straw carrying the head. At the proper time
the shocks of grain were gathered up and piled into stacks
preparatory to threshing. The grain would go through
a process of sweating in the course of a few days after
being stacked. Then it was ready to be threshed out.
By following this method the grain was supposed to shell
out in threshing more completely and therefore a greater
percentage of grains would be recovered. Some farmers,
however, hauled their crops direct from the shocks to the
thresher, reasoning that the extra recovery did not com-
pensate for the cost of extra stacking.

The threshing machine or separators were much the
same as in use the present day, although there have been
some remarkable changes in the driving power as well
as the method of applying it. The first device for driving
the machinery of the separator was by horse-power. The
motion was derived from a large gear wheel several feet
in diameter into which were horizontally fastened six to
eight poles. The gear wheel was mounted on a heavy
frame which also carried the smaller connecting gears,

— 56 —

Reminiscences of Napa

communicating the power to a driving shaft. From two
to three horses were attached to each pole, according
to the size of the horse-power, and were made to walk
around in the circle permitted by the lengths of the
poles. The big gear wheel was covered over by a floor on
which the driver took his position — something like a ring-
master in a small circus. However, there was not much
fun or amusement in this business, for it was the duty
of the driver to keep close watch on the horses and main-
tain the steady motion required for the proper operation
of the separator. The cleaning device always required
nice adjustment. Too high speed would send some of the
grain out with the chafl', or if too slow some chaff would
be retained with the wheat. So the driver had not only
to be watchful but able to exercise good judgment as to
the gait his horses should travel, and, moreover, he had
to exercise great care in starting the power in motion.
To avoid breakages or displacement of the machine it
was necessary to start the horses slowly and all together.
The horse-power had a truck especially devised to trans-
port it from one place to another when necessary. In its
time it was considered a great invention, but in a few
years it gave way to a more advanced application of
power in harvesting operations. This was the introduc-
tion of the steam engines. A machinist named Joseph
Enright and my father built the first steam thresher con-
structed. It was built in the rear of father's shop on Main
Street in Napa. Although considered something of a won-
der in those days, it was a very simple affair. It con-
sisted of about a 25 horse-power boiler mounted on wheels
with an engine fastened on top of the boiler. Many people
were skeptical as to the ability of the inventors to mount
a boiler and engine so that the machine could be pulled
around from place to place and be operated in all posi-
tions necessary. Others predicted it would set fire to the
fields and destroy the country. Really, this was the grcat-

— 57 —

HrcoUcclions of a Nt'ivsjxijx'ruKin

est (lander to siicccssriil .ipplicjilion ot slc;im j)()\s<i' to
lini'vcstiii^ work. A I the lime of the year wlicii llu-
niacliinc would be used every thing was exceedingly dry,
and on hot (hiys seemed ready to burst into flames witli-
ont much help. Finally the builders completed the
njachinc, overcoming, Ihcy thought, the danger of com-
njunicaling fires to the fields as well as other minor
objections. Now came the greatest obstacle, for, while the
steam engine ran a separator in the shop yard better in
every way and at less expense, no one was willing to
allow the machine on his premises. I am not sure that
Enright succeeded in even getting a trial run in the fields
in Napa. However, he took the machine to Yolo County
and there demonstrated its great superiority over the
horse-power device. The fuel used at first was wood, but
Enright soon saw the advantage and greater saving made
by substituting straw for wood, and therefore changed
his boiler construction to admit of burning the waste
straw from the threshing operations. This change, while
greatly reducing the cost of operation, also reduced the
danger from fire.

With the successful adoption of steam power soon came
larger engines, bigger separators, and consequently much
greater daily products from threshing outfits than had
ever been thought of. The farms of California owe much
to the inventive genius and persistent zeal of Joseph
Enright, for his steam thresher served to give them a
device of much greater capacity with greater profits for
many years, until it in turn was displaced by the inven-
tion of the combined harvester of the present day.

The flour mills of Napa Valley have a history which
would prove very interesting if all the facts concerning
their origin and erection could be given. The two in Napa,
one at Yountville, and the one north of St. Helena were
all in operation when I became a resident of the valley
in 1857, and had been for some years immediately prior.

— 58 —

Reminiscences of Napa

The two mills in Napa were operated by steam power,
but the others were driven by water power. I always
understood that the first inill established was the one at
Yountville which was built by George Yount in the '40s.
A little town was built up near the location of the mill
which was called Sebastopol until after the death of
Mr. Yount, when the name was changed to Yountville and
has been known by that title ever since. The mechanics
employed by Mr. Yount in erecting this mill showed
great ingenuity in overcoming difficulties presented in
the inability to obtain iron castings for certain working
parts of the mill by using in substitution mountain oak.
My attention was called to some of these parts many years
afterward. They showed but little wear and the wood
was as sound and strong as when first put in the mill.
It has always seemed strange to me that California should
continue to pay large prices for Eastern oak timber, ignor-
ing the presence here of as good if not a better oak to be
had at little effort.

The mill above St. Helena was located by the county
roadside and with its huge water wheel and flume was a
picturesque affair and was ever an attraction to tourists,
especially in later years after the mill ceased to be
operated and wild vines overgrew the great wheel and
partial ruin overtook the building. With a background
formed by the hills with primitive growth of trees and
brush, no person with love for the artistic could pass
by the mill with a camera without snapping a film.

Napa Valley was early recognized as a section favorable
for the growing of fruit, and a few enterprising farmers
gave their attention to that business. Wells and Ralph
Kilburn were among the pioneers. A man named Osborne
planted the Oak Knoll orchard, and Captain Thompson the
Suscol orchard, both of which became famous throughout
the state before 1860. There were some other orchards
planted on a smaller scale in various parts of the valley,

— 59 —

Hnalh'clions of (I XcinsfxipcrDKiiJ

so llif sliipmciils ol liiiil lo S;iii l-iimcisco in season were
a mailer- ol sonic iniixnM.incc in considciiii^ Uic prodnc-
livr wcallli ol' llic valley.

As is generally known, Xapa in i.iler years became
noled as llie lar^esl wine ^nnving dislricl in the state.
Orchards and wheal (iehls disappeared, heinf^ replaced by
vineyards which lor a time gave great profit lo Die owners,
which probably was the cause ol the overdoing of the
business, placing the producers at the mercy of specu-
lators. Then with the subsequent losses from the ravages
of the vineyards by phylloxera the wine growers in later
years had hard times indeed. The first vineyard for wine
making purposes was planted in the latter part of the '.50s
by John Patchet on a piece of land aboul a mile north-
westerly from the courthouse in the town of Napa. Here
the first wine on any scale was made. Doctor Crane, a
physician in Napa, a very intelligent and obsei*\'ing man,
had become thoroughly impressed with the idea that the
soils and climate of Napa Valley were particularly favor-
able to the culture of the grape for wine purposes. As early
as 1857, he contributed column after column to the pages
of the local paper, giving his reasons therefor and urging
the planting of vineyards, calling attention to the possi-
bilities of the poorer lands, useless for the growing of
grain. The doctor kept up his publications for two or
three years, or it may be longer, until he finally gave up
his practice and bought a brush}" and gravel covered piece
of land near the town of St. Helena not considered worth
fencing and planted the vineyard that subsequently
became famous.

When I first went to Napa, several of the original set-
tlers were still living in the town, and in fact continued
to make Napa their home for years after, until called away
by death. In my acquaintance with them I learned that
the site of Napa was within the boundaries of the grant
belonging to Salvador Vallejo, a brother of General Val-
— 60 —

Reminiscences of Napa

lejo, and that Nathan Coombs purchased a large tract of
land from Vallejo including that which subsequently
became the townsite, and in 1848 laid out the first streets,
and thus began the town of Napa. The first building was
erected by Harrison Pierce early in that year, and was
used as a saloon. A store followed almost immediately,
conducted by J. B. Thompson. Within the next year or
so other buildings and businesses followed, including a
warehouse on the bank of the river. General Frisbie and
his father-in-law. General Vallejo, established a store
there which was a branch of their business established
in Sonoma and Benicia. In 1850, Captain Baxter com-
menced running a little steamer between Napa, Benicia,
and San Francisco.*

He was quite an enterprising man in his time. I remem-
ber that in the latter part of the '50s he imported some
hives of bees, which were the first to be brought into that
section of the state. He sold the honey at $1 per pound or
comb, and people were glad to get it at that price. Nathan
Coombs, the founder of Napa, was a fine character and
possessed native ability to an extraordinary degree. He
was a natural leader of men. As might be assumed, he
was one of the foremost men in Napa County and a leader
in affairs of state as long as he lived. He came to the state
in 1843 and first went to work for a man named Gordon in
what is now Yolo County. He married Gordon's daughter
two years later and not long after moved to Napa. There
he erected a beautiful home and reared a large family.
He died December 26, 1877, greatly respected.

I have in this history of my observations and experi-
ences spoken of hunting trips, and it may be of some
interest to know how I obtained the first gun I ever
owned. I was thirteen years of age when I began to tease
my father to buy me a shotgun. He protested on the

*He died in May, 1915, aged ninety-flve years, and so far as I can learn was
the last of the pioneer settlers of Napa.

— 61 —

HrcoUcvlions of <i NciosjxijxTinan

groiiiid of my ;if^c. I'liis nrf^uinciil I im I by [)()iiiting
out llu' lads of simil;ir age wlio possessed guns. Tlieii
it was that llu' cost of llie gun was more than he wanted
to expend at thai lime. Father was a skilful mechanic
and I knew he could construct almost anything, s(i. run-
ning across one of my boy friends in possession of a
single barrel of an old shotgun, which he had suspended
to a clothes line and was hammering it to make a noise
like that from a triangle, I began negotiations for the
possession of the gun barrel. The negotiations continued
until I had added, one by one, all my holdings of marbles,
tops, jack knife, etc., as consideration in exchange, and
finally obtained the gun barrel. I never made a trade
which gave me more pleasure and satisfaction. I imme-
diately took it to my father, saying now he could make
me a gun without cost. He was not provoked at my per-
sistence, but called my attention to the absence of a gun
lock, and laughingly said, "When you bring me a lock I
will put a stock on the barrel and finish the gun for you."
I always thought he had an idea he had blocked my prog-
ress in getting a gun. There was a gunsmith in town to
whose shop I immediately proceeded. I hung around the
place all my spare time for several days cultivating his
good will, turning grindstone, blowing bellows, running
errands; in fact, offering to do anything that I thought
would help or please him. In the meantime I had oppor-
tunity to thoroughly examine his stock of second-hand
gun locks, of which he had a number, and found one I
was sure was suitable for my purposes. But how was I to
get it? I was sure I did not have enough money to buy
it unless on the instalment plan, and I questioned the
value of my services as a helper being of sufficient com-
pensation. Finally I screwed up courage to ask the gun-
smith how much the lock was worth, and to my surprise
and greater pleasure he replied that if T wanted it I could
have it without charge. I fairly tlew to my father and
— 62 —

Reminiscences of Napa

presented the gun barrel and lock, calling attention to
his promise. It is needless to say I hung around his shop,
day by day, watching the progress of his making the
gun complete with the parts I had furnished. He could
not work at the job steadily, but only at odd times, so
there were days when no headway was made, which dis-
appointed me greatly. However, in time he handed over
to me the gun, finished and ready for use. I know my
father felt repaid for his labors in the supreme satisfac-
tion and pleasure the possession and ownership of that
weapon gave me. Still I think his reward was not
unmixed with some fear of accident to me froin careless
handling of the gun, for he schooled me in the manner
of loading it and particularly in the proper method of
carrying it when loaded, so as not to injure myself or
any one who might be with me in case it should be acci-
dentally discharged.

My gun was a curiosity. It was longer than my height.
The barrel was jet black and the stock yellow, but this,
of course, did not interfere with its efficiency. It was a
muzzle loader, as were all shotguns of that day. The first
Saturday after receiving it I was off to the hills on a
hunting trip bright and early. I soon came across a big
jackrabbit. Several times I aimed my gun at the game,
but concluded I was not close enough for execution.
I would creep through the weeds for a closer position and
would rise to shoot, to find the rabbit had also shifted its
position. Finally I had reached my last opportunity, and
fired. To my surprise the rabbit tumbled over. It was my
first game. My enthusiasm and excitement were intense.
I was through hunting for the day, and started for home
holding my gun over my shoulder with one hand and
dragging the big jackrabbit with the other. In my pride
and excitement I did not feel the burden of either the
gun or game. g^

Hccoll/'riions of a Xcinspfipfniidn

I li.id ;i .141111. II would sliool. fl would kill, and my ini-
iiatioii as a liimltT had i)ciii a success.

The gun was my close companion lor all time 1 could
got out of school, hut finally I traded it off and in the
exchange ohtaincd a douhle-harreled one. After that the
old gun changed hands many times, and the last I saw of
it a Chinaman had it. lie had further emhellished it by
carving some Chinese characters on the broad part of the
stock. It had so many owners and was so well known
that it became almost a part of the early history of Napa.

I was quite successful in my hunting trips. The hills
and the valley teemed with all kinds of small game. Quail
were very plentiful, but it took an expert shot to be able
to kill any number of this kind of game, for to do so
one had to be proficient in shooting them while Hying.
There were also great quantities of wild ducks and geese
in the fall and winter months. I have seen the geese
gather in the grain fields by the thousands, covering acres
of ground. When such flocks would rise upon being fright-
ened they would make a roaring, rasping noise that could
be heard for miles.

My ambition to engage in business activities began to
develop at a very early age. I think I must have been
about eleven years of age when I saw some boy friends
peddling peanuts and candy at some public gathering,
and finding out they were stocked up by a storekeeper
in town who also supplied the baskets, 1 applied for an
opportunity to see what I could do with an outfit. I soon
had my chance and easily made a half dollar as my share
of the undertaking, but was greatly chagrined when I
told my mother of the enterprise and showed her my
profits, to find that she felt humiliated and hurt that her
son should engage in an occupation that she regarded as
being below his station in life, and was commanded never
to do such a thing again.
— 64 —

The little brick church in Napa, Ijuilt in the later '50s, that became the "embry-
onic" college a few years after. The building was shingled in recent years and
is now used as a Christian Science church.

Reminiscences of Napa

Not very long after that there was a big gathering one
Saturday afternoon just outside of town on account of
some horse races. I happened to pass near the store from
which the peddling supplies were obtained. The proprie-
tor, pleased with my previous transaction, put a basket
into my hands and told me to hurry out to the race track.
I hesitated, for I did not want to disobey my mother's
injunction, but I could not screw up my courage to tell
him why. I thought if 1 did he would have a poor opinion
of my folks, and think I was a sissy-boy. Therefore I
took the basket and quickly sold out the contents, receiv-
ing a dollar for my share of the profits, but I would not
make another trip. By this time I could not have felt
worse if I had stolen the money I had earned. I did not
dare to keep it in my pockets, for somehow or some way
my mother generally knew what was stored there. Past
experience told me there was no privacy in those con-
veniences so necessary to a boy's happy existence so far
as my mother was concerned. I dared not buy anything
with the money and thus dispose of it, for then I would
have to account for the purchase. Watching my oppor-
tunity, I buried the dollar in the back yard. I occasionally
dug it up to see if it was safe and finally came to the
conclusion that the only thing to do was to go to my
mother and make a clean breast of the affair, which I
did, promising I would never peddle again, which promise
I faithfully kept.

CIIAPTEH V

THII» TO THE ATLANTIC COAST

Incidents of Wnjaqe — Winter in Neiv Brunswick — Down
the (loast of Maine on a Schooner — Breaking Out of
the Civit War — Departure of the First Troops from
the North — War Feeling in California.

In 1859, my mother's family planned to have a reunion
at the house of my grandfather and grandmother in
Auburn, N, Y., so in company with mother, leaving father
at home, we embarked at San Francisco on a steamer,
bound for New York via the Isthmus of Panama, arriving
there early in October. This was about ten years prior
to the completion of the first railroad across the conti-
nent. The Panama steamers at this period generally
carried all the passengers they could accommodate, so
we were not lonely. The steamers in those days were not
so large and were not fitted up with the accommodations
for passengers' comforts as in the present day. Second-
cabin passengers of this day have better accommodations
than first-cabin travelers of that period had. We had a
"stateroom" in the first cabin. Why it or any of the
rooms were styled "state" I never understood, unless it
was to give them in importance by name and imagina-
tion something they lacked in furnishings and comforts.
Our room, like all the others, had three berths, one above
the other, like a tier of three shelves in a pantry. The
dimensions of the room were not unlike a pantry and a
rather small one at that. In one corner was a projection
to hold a washbowl and pitcher, a slop bucket underneath,
a looking glass, and a couple of stools which had tin air
chambers fastened to the under side of the seat with the
idea of use as life preservers in case of need. These

— 66 —

Trip to the Atlantic Coast

completed the list of furnishings. Mother's ticket called
for the middle berth, and mine the lower one, which was
barely over a foot from the floor. A stranger, an exceed-
ingly short and very fat woman, was to be our stateroom
companion, and hers was the upper or top berth. When
she came in and discovered her location, she gave a wail
of disappointment, saying she could never get up there in
the world. 1 thought so, too, as there were no ladders
furnished to aid fat women in climbing feats. She won-
dered what she was going to do; she couldn't sleep on the
floor; there wasn't room, besides it wasn't nice. As all
this time she had been looking straight at me, 1 under-
stood what she meant and readily traded berths. All
went well for a few nights until the steamer ran into
warm weather and our fat companion almost suffocated
in the stuffy lower berth. She complained greatly of her
sufferings, and spoke as if she thought we all suffered
as she did. Then I was foolish and talked too much,
disputing her statement, explaining about the circulation
of air passing over the top berth from the ventilator. To
my surprise and chagrin, she responded by saying she
guessed she would have to take the berth after all that
had been assigned to her by the purser. Of course I
yielded the comfortable place but had my revenge
whether I was entitled to it or not. I do not know how
she got up into the berth, but 1 do know^ how she came
down a night or two afterward, and by which incident I
came into my own again. It was along about midnight
and there were no noises except the regular throbbing
of the engines and the beating of the paddle wheels when
something happened in the engine room, making a noise
as if the side of the ship was being torn out. Everybody
was frightened, and particularly our fat lady, who did
not think there was time to climb down from her elevated
perch, but leaped out of the berth. Some part of the
flying mass struck a valise standing on one of the stools.

— 67 —

lit'collccliniis of (I Scu)si>(ij)rrm(lii

This Hew oiil :iii(l caroiiu'd on llic washbowl and pitcher,
while its pedestal went in another direction. I'or an
instant it seemed as if everything movable in thai little
room was Hying about as if the place had suddenly been
transformed into a professional spirit cabinet exhibition.
Fortimately, she was not seriously injured, and when she
returned to bed it was to occupy the lower berth. "All is
well that ends well," thought I.

Acapulco was the only stopping place between San
Francisco and Panama. The few hours passed in that
port were sources of pleasure and interest. A number
of passengers went ashore to see the sights. Those who
remained aboard the steamer were entertained by scores
of natives in small boats, hovering around the sides of
the vessel, selling fruit and curios. Besides there were a
number of young natives swimming around, diving for
coins thrown into the water by the passengers.

In about two wrecks' time we arrived at Panama and,
after crossing the Isthmus on the railroad, embarked on
the steamer Star of the West for New^ York. This steamer
was the vessel sent down by the government to Charleston
harbor about eighteen months later to relieve P'ort Sum-
ter, and the first cannon fired in the Civil War was
directed against this ship, preventing the accomplishment
of her mission.

While we were crossing the Gulf of Mexico, a few
hours out from Aspinwall, the steamer's shaft broke on
the starboard side, letting the big paddle wheel drop,
crashing against the side of the steamer in its momentum
of revolution. It was only held from dropping into the
sea by the outer bearing of the shaft. As may be imagined,
the crashing and grinding of the broken wheel against
the side of the steamer before its momentum was stopped
was something to startle ever\' one on board, especially
as only the officers at first knew what had happened.

Fortunately at the time of the accident the sea was as
— 68 —

Trip to the Atlantic Coast

smooth as could be wished for. The broken wheel was
soon lashed up and secured from falling into the sea, and
the steamer proceeded on its voyage with one wheel,
making fairly good time. As a number of the passengers
were timid about remaining with the vessel in her dam-
aged condition, she was run into the harbor at Key West
and all who desired went ashore and completed the trip
to their homes and destinations overland. We remained
with the steamer. Off Cape Hatteras we encountered an
awful storm. The steamer with its reduced power was in
no condition to battle such tremendous seas. The waves
literally ran mountain high. When we slid down from
the apex of these big seas it was like "shooting the chutes,"
and it seemed as if we were going into certain destruction,
but the sturdy little steamer would lift her nose out of
the brine as if with a snort as she finished the glide, and
up she would climb the long, steep side of the next oncom-
ing wave. For some hours the contest with the elements
continued, and when we finally reached smoother water
and the steamer ceased to creak and groan, color returned
to the faces of the passengers, and we proceeded on our
voyage without further incident, but it was generally con-
ceded we escaped destruction by a very narrow margin.

We went direct to Auburn, N. Y., where Grandfather
Roffee lived. There we remained for several months. I
entered the public school at once and continued a pupil
until we left on our round of visits to relatives living in
other parts. I soon became very homesick. Everything
was so different. The country was so thickly settled one
could hardly go out beyond the town limits without fear
of trespass. I sorely missed the freedom of the hills at
home, and frequently declared to myself that if ever I
got back nothing could again lure me away. The family
reunion was held soon after our arrival at grandfather's
and grandmother's home. All of their children, four boys
and five girls, all grown to be men and women, gathered

— 69 —

lircollrclions of <t Xrinspaprrnian

al the old liomcslcjid. I \v;is tlic only i^iJiiulchild present.
The other gnindehihh'en were left nt their homes. Per-
haps I was made the exception because of" being the only
child among the five daughters. The reunion was made
a notable affair by the newspapers, especially as the fam-
ily had assembled from sucli reniole points, California,
New Brunswick, Michigan, Massacluiselts, and otlier states
of less distance. Grandfather had settled in that section
of the country between 1825 and 1830, first as a farmer,
then as a contractor. He was a sturdy, good-natured man,
and having passed some of his early life at sea, he always
bore the looks and manners of a seafaring man and was
universally called captain and was widely known and
popular in the community. He died in 1876, an event that
grieved me deeply.

Mother and I left Auburn late in the fall of 1860 to
spend the winter in St. John, New Brunswick, with my
Aunt Augusta, the wife of Doctor John Peterson. St.
John interested me very much. It was quite a seaport
and I was able to study the shipping at close range, a
privilege I never before enjoyed. Another thing which
impressed me greatly was the 30-foot rise and fall of
tide, and the river near the town with a fierce, reversible
current. With the fall of the tide the water whirled and
eddied into the bay, and with the flood tide the water
flowed in like manner up stream.

The winters here were very cold and the fall of snow
was quite heavy. On the majority of streets no attempt
was made to remove the snow as it fell, other than from
the sidewalks. This was thrown into the street, \sdth the
result that before the winter was over the snow was
banked in the streets to a level as high as a man's head,
so that short people walking on one side of the street
could not see any one on the opposite side.

With entertainments, skating and other outdoor sports,
the winter quickly passed and when I left St. John it

— 70 —

Trip to the Atlantic Coast

was with pleasant recollections of the visit there. I pre-
vailed upon my mother to allow me to return to the States
by sailing vessel. 1 had made the acquaintance of a cap-
tain of an American schooner of 300 tons, about to leave
for Boston. The captain expected not to be longer than
a week or ten days at the most in making the trip, but
owing to adverse winds and a fierce storm, the worst that
had visited the coast for several years, we were over
two weeks on the voyage. However, I enjoyed it greatly,
as I was then at that age when excitement and adventure
were not avoided, if not courted.

It was some time in March when the schooner sailed
out of the harbor of St. John. We had fair wind out
of the Bay of Fundy, but when outside our troubles began,
so the captain concluded the course nearer the mainland
would give us more favorable weather, though necessi-
tating more careful navigation, as we would be sailing
along and among the many islands bordering the coast
line. As he was not familiar with the channels on this
course, he would anchor the vessel at nightfall, and do
all the sailing in daylight. On a few occasions we came
to anchor early enough to go to the beach and dig a
fine mess of clams, which made a most agreeable addi-
tion to our menu. One afternoon we overtook another
schooner of about the same size as ours, sailing in the
same direction. As the islands were getting closer and
therefore the sailing room narrower our captain became
a little nervous. He hailed the other craft to know if the
captain were acquainted with the channel. The reply came
back that he was and for us to keep about TOO fathoms on
his starboard quarter and he would take us through all
right. We shortened sail so as to maintain the position, but
this was hardly accomplished when a glance at the other
craft showed it was in trouble. It was hard and fast on a
reef. It had struck so hard all sheets were carried away
and the sails slanted forward instead of aft. Almost in

— 71 —

liccnUcclions of d \fii).sf)(i[)('iin(iii

l\\v iitxl instant our ncsscTs keel louclicd the rocks, and,
though Mf»htly, it was sunicienl to give lis all u scare,
and for the second time in my young life the hair on the
hack of my head seemed to lift up. The captain acted
(|uickly, the sails were dropped by the run, the anchor
hove, and signal for a j)ilot was set. In course of an liour
or so, a little boat was seen putting out from the main
shore line, which at this distance seemed to carry, besides
the oarsmen, something like a big cooking stove with a
section of stove pipe. This object, however, turned out to
be the pilot answering our signal. When he unfolded
from his position in the boat he proved to be a very tall,
slim man wearing a stovepipe hat, who measured about
seven feet from the deck to the top of the hat. He soon
had us on our way again and in less dangerous waters.
He certainly was a comical sight.

Our next serious adventure was the weathering of a
fierce gale. We sought anchorage in a small harbor, as
the captain anticipated troublesome weather. Both
anchors were put out and everything made snug. The
preparations were hardly completed when the storm was
on us. The wind came with tremendous force. There
were no waves, but the surface of the water was one mass
of white foam. We felt sure the schooner was dragging
her anchors and drifting toward shore, but nothing could
be done. A person could not stand on deck. All we could
do was to lie in our bunks and wait for the hurricane
to abate or something Avorse to take place. Finally
toward morning the storm passed over, and at daylight
I was out on deck to see what had happened. Our
schooner was riding the water safely some distance from
its original anchorage, though we had passed close to
a big rock while dragging the anchors, and was located
then not far from another mass of rocks on which we
surely would have been dashed if the gale had continued
much longer. When we came into the harbor the night

— 72 —

Trip to the Atlantic Coast

before we found at anchor several fishing sloops and
schooners. With one or two exceptions these had all
been blown ashore and were wrecks high and dry on the
beach, some a hundred yards or so from the water, show-
ing that the force of the wind had raised the water level
several feet in the harbor. It was a record storm and
much damage was done along that part of the Atlantic
Coast, as I afterward found by reading the account of it
in the newspapers.

The day following the storm was Sunday. The weather
was still unfavorable for the resumption of the voyage, so
we remained at anchor. During the day some residents
of the shore came aboard for a visit and to discuss the
incidents of the previous night. The visitors informed
us that inshore a short distance was a school-house where
religious services w^ould be held that Sunday evening, and
invited us to attend. When the hour for church was near
a party from the schooner, including myself, put off for
shore. We soon found the school-house back in among
the trees a half mile or so from the water. It was the only
building we saw in the vicinity, and was constructed of
logs in the usual manner. The assemblage fairly filled
the school-room and was made up mostly of young peo-
ple. The room was lighted by candles placed around the
sides of the building. The preacher took his position at
the teacher's desk, holding a candle in one hand and a
bible or hymn book in the other throughout the ser-
vices, not even laying the candle aside during the prayer.
I can not recall anything said by the preacher, for the rea-
son that my w^hole attention was absorbed by the appear-
ance and conduct of the people making up the congre-
gation. Nearly everybody was chewing gum, not the kind
we get in these days in the stores, but the spruce gum
as it was found on the trees thereabouts. Moreover, the
young men as well as the young ladies seemed more inter-
ested in one another than in what the minister was telling

— 73 —

lircoUcclions of (i NcwspapcriiKui

llit'Mi. Wliiii the scivicMs wcr'c ciidctl llic men h It the
room llrsl and look posilion lined up on each side ol the
path ironi llio door. Tlun the young women filed out
and as they passed l)et\veen the lines they, one by one,
found their partners from among the young men and of!"
they went in various directions.

We found our way back over the snow-packed road to
the beach, and thence to the schooner, feeling fully
repaid for the tramp through the snow and exposure to
the cold wind blowing over the water.

One afternoon we sailed into Portsmouth harbor and
cast anchor near the government navy yard, where an
exceedingly strong current prevailed. For some reason
the sails were not lowered, only the peaks being dropped.
The wind was blowing fairly strong and the canvas would
fill and the schooner would sail up against the current
until the anchor would bring her into the wind, then
the sails would flap and the vessel would drift back until
the sails would catch the wind again. While this was
going on and everybody was down below getting supper,
I came up on deck. Desiring a more elevated position
to view the country I climbed onto the boom of the
mainsail and walked out to the end, which projected over
the water, hanging on to the top and lift with my hands.
Here I stood until the schooner had been brought into the
wind as just described. The first flap of the big sail
knocked my feet off the boom. There 1 dangled in the
air with only a hand hold between me and certain death
until the schooner drifted back to where the wind caught
the sails again. I regained the deck limp with fright from
my narrow escape, but glad that no one had witnessed the
incident.

For the last few days of our voyage we had exceedingly
cold weather, and when we put into Boston harbor the
decks, bulwarks, and rigging were covered with a mantle
of ice. 1 soon found mother, who was greatly relieved by

— 74 —

Trip to the Atlantic Coast

my arrival, as she had begun to fear something had hap-
pened to our craft in the great gale.

Leaving Boston, mother and I arrived at Providence,
R. I., going for a short visit to the home of Nathaniel
Potter, who w^as a distant relative of my mother. The
great conflict of the Civil War had begun. It was while
here that the first troops left Rhode Island in quick
response to the call of President Lincoln. Fort Sumter
had been fired on and blood had been shed. Government
stations and property in the South where possible were
being seized by those in rebellion who had declared
they were no longer a part of the federal government.
There was great excitement in Providence. To fill the
quota of soldiers wanted from Rhode Island offices were
opened to enlist volunteers. In a few hours the required
number of men was obtained, and the enlistment offices
were overwhelmed with crowds of men who were willing
and anxious to serve their country. Not one-half of the
men who offered their services could be accepted. I saw
men shedding tears because they had not secured enlist-
ment. The men accepted were mustered in at once into
company and regiment organizations. Martial music and
the tramp of men were to be heard almost continuously,
and the coming conflict was the subject uppermost in
everybody's mind. The only attempt to uniform the troops
was to dress them in dark pantaloons, blue blouses, and
soft black hats, there not being time for more. During
the period of enlistment and until the troops departed
from Providence I frequently saw Major Burnside, who
afterward distinguished himself and became a great com-
mander. The first lot of Rhode Island volunteers left
Providence in a large steamer, which was accompanied
down the bay by numerous smaller steamers, crowded
with relatives and friends of the enlisted men. I went on
one of Mr. Potter's steamers and was greatly impressed
with the sight, and with the serious import of the occasion.

— 75 —

lU'collcclioiis of (I SciiKsjjdpmiKii}

Subs('(|ii(iilly I s;i\\ in.iiiy llioiisjiiids ol Iroops leasing lor
llu" s(';il of war Ifoin oilier jxtinls in llic Norlli.

Ml-. Potlci-, al whose lioine we were visiling, suirc'red
great financial losses i)y reason ol" the war. His Inisiness
was largely connected with the South. One of his indus-
tries was the nianui'acturing ol" eollonseed oil. hiil he
was only one of" many in like position who never fal-
tered in their patriotism and loyalty to the government.

From Providence we went to Great Valley, a little place
in Western New York, a station on the Erie Railroad,
where my Aunt Mintie lived. We remained there a couple
of months, and 1 think I enjoyed the time passed in
Great Valley more than at any other place while away
from California. The town, located on the banks of the
Allegheny River, was on an Indian reservation, and the
country around was in its natural wildness. The neighbor-
ing streams all yielded trout to those who knew how to
catch them.

I constructed a small skifif and rigged a sail for it
and with this craft I had much pleasure on the river.
My boat interested the Indians greatly, for they never
had witnessed this manner of navigation. It was along
this section of the Allegheny River that the first units
of the great lumber rafts were made that were floated
down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to be marketed. At
the sawmills located on the banks of the Allegheny the
sawed lumber was made into rafts of small sections which
were joined together from time to time as the river
widened out, until finally when the great rivers were
reached they were huge affairs. These rafts drifted with
the current and were kept in the channel by long wide-
bladed sweeps worked on each end. The raftsmen lived
on the rafts during the passage down the river.

While we w^ere at Great Valley the construction of a
railroad to Cincinnati connecting with the Erie road, a few
miles east of our station, was begun. Where the tracks

— 76 —

Trip to the Atlantic Coast

of the two roads joined was a wild forest, with no habi-
tation for miles around. My curiosity took me out to
this point quite frequently. The junction was called Sala-
manca. The first habitation put here was a freight caboose
car taken off its wheels, which w^as solely used for rail-
road purposes. I helped the lineman install a set of
telegraph instruments in this "first house." Therefore, I
w^as present at the birth of Salamanca, which inside of
fifteen years had several thousand inhabitants, and grew
to be a city with paved streets and blocks of brick
buildings.

The wildwoods with their great variety of trees, shrubs,
and berry bushes, nearly all of which were new^ to me,
were a source of much interest, and as trout streams
meandered through these spots, I must say I passed a
great part of my time in their company.

With all my pleasure here, an accident occurred just
before we left which threw^ a shadow of sadness over it
all. One evening after supper I was playing on the
sloping bank of the river with two boy companions when
the latter took to chasing each other over some large
logs which had been hauled to the bank to be rolled into
the river for the convenience of the sawmill nearby.
I noticed an open space between the logs lying near the
water's edge and those on the bank above, and, as there
was little if anj^thing holding the upper logs from rolling
down against the others, I was fearful the action of the
boys on the logs would start them. I shouted a w^arning,
but too late — the logs began to roll. The boys saw their
danger. One nearer the end of the logs escaped by jump-
ing; the other lad struggled for a few seconds to keep on
top, only to be jolted off down between the logs as
they came together, instantly crushing out his young life.
We ran to the mill men for help, who quickly responded,
but it took soine time to move the heavy logs and recover
the body.

— 77 —

Hccdilcclioiis (if (I .\('insj)(ij)crm(tri

T]\v lime IkmI now coiiif lor our icliirii to ('.aliforiiia.
Tlu- c'oiiiilry \v;is iibluzc with cxcilcincnl over tlu- war
with Ihc South. In every cily iind town we pjisscd on our
tiip Irom Great Valley to New York we saw marching
soldiers in preparation to take part in the great struggle
to preserve the Union. The activities of the war were
not conlined to land alone. The navy was being increased
in every possible way, and all possible ettort was being
made to blockade Southern harbors and capture or
destroy the privateers being sent out to prey upon mer-
chant steamers and ships owned in the North. So when
we embarked on the steamer for home the passengers
were in constant fear that our vessel would be captured.
It was thought an especial effort would be made to over-
take our steamer, as we had on board as passengers sev-
eral naval officers, one of high rank, bound for the Pacific
Coast. Besides, our cargo would have been of value to
the Southern side. During those days not a few passen-
gers spent much of their time watching for the possible
privateer, and there was much speculation as to what
would be done with the passengers in case we should be
captured. I must confess, boylike, I was rather disap-
pointed when none of the craft that came in view proved
to be privateers in search of our steamer. Of course. I
did not consider the hardships we might have had to
undergo if capture had been our misfortune. It was only
the excitement of such an event that then appealed to me.

We reached the Isthmus safely, and the remainder of
our voyage was without incident until the night before
we were to arrive in San Francisco. This was July 3. The
next day being the Fourth, every one was anxious to have
the steamer reach port as early as possible. To gratify
the wishes of the passengers that they might not miss the
celebration of Independence Day in the city, it was said
that the course of the steamer was brought in as close
to the coast line as possible. However, along about mid-

— 78 —

Trip to the Atlantic Coast

night everybody was awakened by a terrific shock and
the stopping of the machinery. Tlirowing on a few
clothes, I ran out from tlie main saloon to the guard abaft
the starboard wheelhouse to learn, if possible, the cause
of the stopping of the vessel, for no one in the saloon
seemed to know what had happened. Upon looking out
from this point I saw the sea breaking over two or three
different points of rock directly opposite the side of the
steamer. They could not have been very far away, other-
wise the heavy fog would have shut them out from view.
I then ran across to the other guard on the port side, where
I found a similar condition prevailed. About this time
one of the officers of the ship came down in the saloon,
saying that while there was no danger the passengers
should all dress themselves and be prepared to leave the
ship, as she had run ashore in the dense fog.

Investigation showed we were under a high cliff and
the bow of the steamer was resting easily on the sandy
beach at Point Concepcion. In getting this position the
steamer had fortunately passed in between several rocky
projections. Another thing in our favor was that the
accident happened near low water and there was no wind
or high sea running. Anchors, with a couple of heavy
cables, were taken out some little distance from the after-
part of the ship. The steerage passengers were all
brought aft and everything was done to lift the bow of
the steamer as much as possible. After waiting awhile
for sufficient rise of tide, the capstans on the cables were
started and the big paddle wheels put in backward
motion. There was a straining of cables and the ship
held fast for a few moments; then she began to move
backward, but no one breathed freely until we were well
beyond the rocks.

In recent years the steamer Santa Rosa was wrecked
at the same point, but in this instance there was a total
loss of ship and cargo, besides a few lives from among

— 79 —

liccollf (lions of (f i\'rn>sf)(i])('rfii(in

tlu' passc'iif^crs and cicw in inakinf4 Ihc liansfcr from tlic
wreck to the shore. The Santa liosa struck on the rocks
we missed.

Soon alter the passengers were instructed to don tlieir
clothes and to he prepared to go ashore, an amusing inci-
dent came under my ohscrvation. The excitement had
ahout quieted down and people were waiting for develop-
ments, when a second cahin passenger named Solomon,
who had his wife and little boy of six or seven years
of age with him on the trip, known to all the passengers
of both cabins by his peculiar conduct, came running out
of the second cabin into the first cabin saloon dragging
his boy with one hand and a trunk with the other. He,
the boy, and trunk were covered with life preservers, fas-
tened on them in most absurd ways. Apparently, Solo-
mon had exhausted the supply of preservers, for his wife
had none. So he had disposed of them in the order in
which he valued his possessions. The "ha! ha!" that
greeted him did not disturb his equanimity, for he did not
retreat to his cabin or remove the life preservers until
all danger w-as passed.

How much damage, if any, the steamer received I never
learned. Nothing was published in the newspapers about
it that I ever saw. It was said that when she came along-
side the wharf in San Francisco to discharge her passen-
gers she had several feet of water in her hold.

Father met us at the wharf and we soon took the river
steamer bound for our home in Napa. We left the steamer
at Benicia, with only a three-hour stage ride between
this last point and our destination. 1 shall never forget
the exultation and thrill of joy 1 experienced when I
came in sight once more of the countrs- and the hills so
familiar and dear to me. I thought nothing of having
missed those indulgences, sports, and pastimes common
to boys of my age on Fourth of July. I was satisfied, for
1 was home where for nearly two long years I had wished

— 80 —

K^c

Z o£
5 O s-

o . ;:

o ^ c

.- 5; <

"=^ ;;

Trip to the Atlantic Coast

to be. However, I must say that in after years I learned
to appreciate the value of the knowledge and experience
gained in that absence and visits to various parts of the
Eastern states and Canadian possessions.

War feeling was running high in California, and for a
while there was fear some effort would be made to take
the state out of the Union, as there were so many South-
erners and Southern sympathizers here, prominent in
office and in politics. There was an attempt made to fit
out a small schooner called the Chapman as a privateer,
and rumors were thick of organization to seize the gov-
ernment arsenal at Benicia and the navy yard at Mare
Island, but government authorities seized the Chapman
and acted so promptly and firmly on other matters that no
serious conflict occurred in the state.

In Napa County the sympathizers with the North and
South were thought at first to be about equally divided in
numbers, but as the war went on and the town increased
in population, a decided majority for the Union side
developed. Before the war closed there were three mili-
tary organizations formed in the town of Napa — a com-
pany of infantry, a company of cavalry, and an artillery
company with two field guns. They were all mustered in
as state troops. The companies were frequently called out
for drill, parade, and encampments, and were prepared
to promptly answer any call for service in defense of the
state or government. But, fortunately, no occasion arose
deinanding service of that kind, although there were
times when it appeared as though a conflict was not only
possible but probable. Government agents were keeping
close watch of the doings of all prominent Southern sym-
pathizers, and some of their reports were quite alarm-
ing as to what the Southerners were organizing to do. On
one occasion the military of Napa was notified by the
federal authorities that a number of rebels would assem-
ble in the upper part of the valley with the intention

— 81 —

liriollcclioiis of (I Scivsj)(i})rrm(in

of s\v()<)i)in;4 <I<)\vii on llic ;iiinory in llic town and cnj)-
luring llu- field guns and the ((luipnuiit of tlu,' otiicr com-
panies; llion, lluis armed, they would make a rush lor
the navy yard and allempi lo eaj)ture that i)hK'e. For
months previous a small guard had i)een on duly at the
armory during the night hours, and the ringing of the
courthouse bell was lo be the signal of trouble when the
mend)crs of the companies were expected to assemble.
When the report above mentioned was received the guard
was increased with a sulficienl number of men to nightly
patrol the roads leading into town from the north. I was
a member of the infantry company — in fact, the youngest
of the eighty members — and stood my share of this night
work. Heretofore I had not regarded it as a very serious
matter, but now it seemed to be taking on a very realistic
form, and I was not so sure I w^as enjoying it. The lonely
vigil of scntrv' duty was creepy business at night at the
best for a sixteen-year-old boy, but when things became
so threatening I could have given Sherman's definition of
war my unqualified indorsement.

On one occasion while all were tuned up with excite-
ment, expectation, and anxiety, a man rode into town in
great haste, bringing the information that in the vicinity
of Yountville, out in the fields about a half mile from
the county road, he had seen some mounted men manceu-
vering with a field gun of large size. The horses would
be attached to the gun. It was rushed to position, unlim-
bered, and so on, giving the impression that the artillery-
men were being drilled in handling the gun. As that sec-
tion of the valley was at this time almost exclusively
settled with Southern sympathizers, the statement of what
the man saw. coupled with the information furnished by
the federal authorities, caused the military of Napa to be
placed on war footing in short order, at least for one
night. The whole force was called out and remained on
duty all night. Our scouts, sent into the enemy's country%

— S2 —

Trip to the Atlantic Coast

however, brought back information which raised a big
laugh at the expense of the "Home Guards," as we were
frequently dubbed by Southerners. They found the gun,
but it was only a rough imitation — a couple of sections
of 6-inch stove pipe laid across the axle of a pair of
front wheels of a wagon. While the joke was on us, all
hands were pleased with the outcome of our nearest
approach to a conflict.

So numerous were the friends of the South in this sec-
tion that the flying of rebel flags was quite commonly
indulged in, but I do not recall that any serious disturb-
ance arose over flaunting the colors of the South. This
was possibly due to the fact that the town was so small
that, aside from politics, the inhabitants were all friends
and neighbors.

The assassination of President Lincoln at the close of
the war was an event causing intense excitement in Napa
as well as everywhere else. All interest in business or
other matters ceased upon publication of the telegram
announcing the tragedy. For several days people would
gather in groups on the streets or public places discuss-
ing the details of the awful aff'air. There was much bit-
terness expressed in these meetings, and it was feared
that the feeling might take some form of vengeance on
those sympathizing with the South. It would have taken
but little to have started the Unionists in some kind of
mob action. In San Francisco such a mob did destroy
one or two newspaper offices and commit some other
offenses against persons who had been outspoken in their
attitude against the Union side, but in the course of a few
days things quieted down and citizens began prepara-
tions to honor the dead President. Public and private
buildings, business houses, and private residences were
festooned in mourning drapery. Mock funerals were held
in almost every community of any size. At Napa a most
creditable display was made. A procession with an impos-

— 83 —

RocoUrclions of <t Scivsjxtpcnnd!}

ing caluf;il(jii(>, followed by the military, civic societies,
and civilians, was an impressive si/^lit. A funeral oration
was delivered by Henry Hdt^erton, one of the ablest
and best known orators in the stale. livery oik- felt the
solenniity of the occasion and was moved by sincere ^rief
at the loss of the great President. I participated in the
parade as acting orderly sergeant of our company. I know
I felt quite set up at being taken from the ranks for the
position, and I do not believe the grand marshal felt his
responsibilities more than I did mine. It, moreover,
pleased me as an appreciation of my eflorts to thoroughly
acquaint myself with the duties of a soldier and the drill.
I had studied tactics and sought information and instruc-
tion from every source. In fact, all through life I never
entered upon any undertaking without making myself
thoroughly acquainted with all its details, that 1 might
be master of it. To this, coupled with determination and
persistence, and with no room for discouragement, I owe
what success I have made. Thus equipped, I know I have
succeeded in fields where others have failed.

Our company made a practice of going out for target
shooting about twice a year. As a rule I won the first prize,
but there was one very marked exception. I was not
conscious of any superior ability as a marksman; it
seemed so easy for me to hit the target, I could not under-
stand why everybody else could not do as well. On the
occasion of the exception, the detail who had the handling
of the ammunition were practical jokers, and when they
dealt out to me my three cartridges I noticed they were
considerably shorter than usual. We were using muzzle-
loading Springfield rifles, and the powder wrapped in
paper fastened to a conical ball with a hollow base con-
stituted the cartridge. The procedure of loading was to
tear the end of paper open, pour the powder into the
muzzle of rifle barrel, then ram home the ball with the
paper attached, as a wad over the powder, I loaded my

Trip to the Atlantic Coast

gun with one of the cartridges, and, when it came my
turn to shoot, there was a weak report, and the bullet was
seen to plow the dirt very short of the target. Those in
on the joke had a good laugh at my poor marksmanship.
I then looked at the other two cartridges and realized
what had been done. 1 was deeply mortified and much
wrought up in my feelings, and while in this mood I
loaded my rifle again, this time using the powder of the
two remaining cartridges for one shot. Addressing my
tormentors 1 pointed to a little tree about twelve inches
in diameter standing about 300 yards away, telling them
to watch it. 1 fired, and a patch of bark flew off, so all
could see that I had made a center shot. 1 was out of
the match, but felt I had repaired my reputation and put
a stop to further amusement at my expense.

Writing about the doings of the military companies calls
to mind an incident in the history of the Napa cavalry
that was serious in one sense and quite amusing in
another. The company had been in attendance at a state
encampment held a few miles west of Suisun, and was
on the way home from the aff'air. A vineyardist, learning
that the company was to pass his ranch that afternoon,
had brought out to the roadside in front of his place a lot
of wine with which to treat the soldiers. It had been hot
and everybody w^as thirsty. This was in the early days
of wine-making in this state when not only those who
drank it but those who made it knew but little about it,
further than that it had about the same intoxicating quali-
ties as an equal amount of whisky. Probably not one in
twenty of the company had ever tasted any of the Cali-
fornia wine. The company was halted upon arrival at the
place and the wine-maker given a cheer when it was made
known what was to happen. Everybody drank — some
daintily, some freely — the officers as well as the rank and
file. The company was soon on the march, but in a few
moments the strong wine in the heated blood began to

— 85 —

liccoHcilioiis of a Neiuspaperman

show its cIlVcls. Williiii a hall hour the company lost
all semblance of order. Some nun fell oil' lluir liorses
and wore unable lo refrain their saddles; some ran their
horses, and others sought the shade of trees. The mem-
bers became scattered along the road for several miles.
Those least affected managed to get a position ahead of
the straggling cavalrymen, and when they reached a place
a couple of miles from home they halted the men as they
came up and remained there, not going into town until
after dark. No one was seriously hurt, but several were
made quite ill, and all who drank complained they did
not recover from unpleasant sensations for several days.
The members were from among the very best citizens
of the town and country and could never have been
induced to indulge in the w^ine if they had had the slight-
est idea of what was to happen.

86 —

CHAPTER VI

CLOSE OF SCHOOL WORK

Experiences in Futile Search of Employment in a Machine
Shop — The Position of Apprentice in a Newspaper
Office Accepted — Oil Excitement of 1865 — Adventures
on the Trip Through the Wilds to the Oil Fields.

Almost immediately upon our arrival home from the
long visit East, I entered upon my studies in school.
I began now to appreciate the value of an education.
I worked hard to keep up with my classes, fully realizing
I was not what was called a bright scholar. Probably for
this reason I concluded I would never be able to earn a
living in a professional way, and the adverse comments
of my teacher on my school work, especially mathematics,
undoubtedly influenced my conclusions. When I was about
seventeen years of age our embryonic college closed for
all time, so I determined to make my start in life,
considering mechanics was the only field open to me.
1 thought the trade of a machinist was the best suited
to my qualifications, and that it offered some little chance
of position in life above that of a day laborer. I thought
that if I could serve my time as a machinist, I might then
be able to secure a position as an engineer on an ocean
steamer and in time become a chief engineer. With my
future thus mapped out I went to San Francisco and
sought out the manager of one of the largest machine
shops in the city and applied for a position as apprentice.
I guess my size (for I was very slight in build) and my
country appearance must have been against me, for he
said he was sure 1 would not do. I visited other shops, in

— 87 —

KfcoUi'i-lions of (I Scivsp(tj)cnn(tn

iicjiily nil (»r wliicli my services wcic (Iccliiicd. I'inally
I IouikI :i iiKiiiJi^'cr who gave me some eiieoiiragemeiil to
llie exleiil that he woiihl give iiu; consideraliou wiieii he
had a vacancy. These ellorls required considerable time
and several trips to and from San Francisco. I visited the
last-mentioned shop several times to be certain that I
slioiild be on hand when the vacancy developed. How I
envied the boys at work lliere, wishing I could i)e rigged
up in greasy overalls as they were, with smutted hands
and faces! The buzz of the machinery was a pleasing
sound to me. These visits, therefore, only served to excite
my ambition instead of tending to discourage me. Some-
how, and for some reason I can not explain, I was sure
if I persisted I would finally succeed.

While waiting for the greatly desired opportunity 1
was told of a place I could secure in a big planing mill
which was located on Market Street near the intersection
of California. I took the job with a compensation of $5
per week attached, with the idea I could remain in San
Francisco, which might afford me some advantage in get-
ting into the machine shop. In the planing mill I was to
wait on the workmen, remove to the boiler room the shav-
ings and sawdust made by the mill operation, and do any-
thing that might be required of me. I had learned to
handle tools in my father's shop, so I was quite at home
in my new job. This pleased the boss greatly, and he gave
me work to do that tickled my vanity. He put me at
machine work helping to turn out some extra heavy
moulding made in circular sections for an archway that
was ordinarily done bv' his best men. From lack of expe-
rience I had a couple of very narrow escapes from death
on the job, and some close calls from lesser injuries in
working on other machines. Finally, while ripping up
some long redwood boards on a circular saw one day,
I had nearly finished the cut when the board split out the
remainder of the distance and one piece flew up and

— 88 —

Close of School Work

landed on top of the saw. The momentum of the saw
sent the board flying back endwise with the velocity of a
cannon ball. It struck the front end of the building, shat-
tering the door and passing so close to my body that I
was unnerved for any more work in that place and
resigned the job, thankful I was alive.

The $5 per week allowed me only an average of about
70 cents per day for the seven days of the week for room
rent, meals, and any other minor necessities. It required
some careful managing to satisfy my appetite. I patron-
ized the waterfront coffee stands for breakfast, then
the cheap restaurants up town for lunch and supper.
A 25-cent meal was the limit of possible indulgence.

Under the circumstances I concluded I had better go
back home and there await the chance for the opening in
the machine shop. Traveling back and forth did not
require any passage money, for I took advantage of the
regular trip of the schooner Toccao, on board of which I
was always welcomed bj'^ Captain Wines, the owner.

It was on one of these trips I made the acquaintance
of John T. Dare, who afterward became a prominent attor-
ney and politician in San Francisco. One Sunday morn-
ing, while the schooner was waiting for the turn of the
tide to start on the trip for Napa, a young fellow came
strolling down the wharf, dressed in the garb of a work-
ingman, with a roll of blankets over his shoulder. After
eyeing the schooner for a while he hailed me, asking where
she was bound, how long it would take to make the trip,
etc., and finally asked if I thought the captain would
let him go along without charge. I replied that I would
find out. The generous-hearted owner said that of course
he could go. This young fellow was John T. Dare. He
told me he had just arrived from Arizona and was prac-
tically without money, and, learning there was plenty of
employment in the harvest fields, was striking out for a
job. I did not see him for some months after we landed

— 89 —

lircollcch'oits of (I \('ii>sj)(ii)('i/n(iii

in Napa. He luid .i^oiic to woi-k on one ol" llic hi^ rniiclics.
Mild Ii:i(l already sccuicd llic jxjsilioii of roicman. lie
iiKule f^ood in all lie imderlook, even siih.se(}iienlly in
the study of law, hut his aehievenients were not due to
luck, for all his progress in life and final elevation to
high political positions and esteem of his fellow citizens,
was gained only hy hard work.

On my return home, late in the summer of 1863, 1 lound
the publication of a newspaper was about to be started
by a couple of men named Strong and Howell. They had
employed a printer named Ray and wanted a boy. I told
the publishers I would only take the job temporarily,
as I intended to be a machinist. I was engaged, however,
at $6 per week. The paper was published weekly and was
called the Napa Register. It is still being published as a
paper of excellence and influence, but is now issued daily
and weekly. It was in this office I was taught the mys-
teries of the printing business, the lay of the case, how to
"roll" for a hand press, and was called the "devil."
Mr. Strong, for some reason, soon sold out his interest in
the business and went to San Francisco, where he secured
a position as foreman on a newspaper called the Argus,
published almost wholly in the interest of the mining
business. Mr. Strong sent for me, offering me the largest
wages I had yet earned. Of course, I was not backward
in accepting. I was to receive $10 or $12 per week.
Mr. Strong was a kind-hearted man, a thorough printer,
with more than ordinary education, and I greatly appre-
ciated his efforts to perfect my work as a printer, as well
as many practical ideas he drilled into me. I became
interested in the work and saw there was a future in the
business, with greater independence in position and much
less red tape to contend with than in the calling I had
first chosen for my life work. Therefore I gave up the
idea of being a machinist and engineer and decided to
learn the business of printing and become a publisher.

— 90 —

Close of School Work

Mr. Strong was making a fair compositor out of me.
I worked hard to please him and the owner of the paper,
using every opportunity to learn all I possibly could about
the business.

The Argus was not the financial success we all wished
it to be and the result was that after a while we only
received a portion of our earnings on Saturday nights.
At the request of the publisher I had canvassed the town
of Napa for subscribers and obtained quite a list. How-
ever, I refused to accept any advance payments, as I knew
that the life of the paper was uncertain. After working
some time and as the amount of unpaid earnings was
growing with the coming of each weekly pay day, I con-
cluded to seek employment elsewhere. The publisher had
so many creditors chasing him that I had hard work
to find him to secure authority to collect the subscriptions
due from the Napa subscribers and apply them to the
discharge of the amount he was owing me. He was reluc-
tant to do this, but I was insistent, and finally succeeded
in my demands. I returned home and collected my dues.
The paper failed soon afterward and 1 was told that I was
the only one working on the paper who had received all
that was due him.

It was now late in the spring or early in the summer of
the year 1865. 1 had become quite an expert in setting type
for plain newspaper work and found considerable employ-
ment in the office of the Napa newspapers. While in town,
I was the only person who could set type available for any
extra demand that would come on the office, therefore my
services were sought nearly every week for a few days,
and for this reason I did not go away to seek steady
employment.

About this time the people of Napa especially became
greatly interested and excited over the discovery of oil
in Humboldt County, owing to the fact that one of the
most prominent citizens was the owner of considerable

— 91 —

RcioUcclions (if (I Xcmsjjdpcrman

hind ill llic (lislricl wIk ic llic oil iiidic-nlioiis luid been
found. In IjicI, some of llie oil seepaf^es existed on his
laiui. A company was incorporated and stock was solrl to
citizens. I was among the many who had been stricken
with oil fever and invested all my savings, about -^(SOO, in
purchase of the slock. The investment embraced the first
accumulation of money i had ever made. After becoming
interested in the company I was anxious to visit the oil
field. A party of three or four citizens who were also
owners of the slock was preparing for the trip and they
oflered to supply me with a horse if I would go along. I
very promptly accepted the invitation. The trip had to be
made for the greater part of this distance on horseback,
so it was decided to go all the way in this manner. We
had two horses on which we packed our provisions, cook-
ing utensils, and blankets, and, with ourselves mounted,
made quite a cavalcade when we rode out of Napa the day
after the celebration of the Fourth of July. A couple of
the party carried rifles and I had my shotgun, as we were
to camp out for the entire trip and, as a considerable por-
tion of the route to the oil fields was through sparsely and
wholly uninhabited sections, we knew we had to depend
upon the guns to supply all the meat we would have to
eat. I may as well say now that we never went hungrA- for
meat. Game was so plentiful and, with no game laws to
interfere, we seldom had to leave the trails or road to get
all we needed.

Our route took us through Napa Valley, thence into
Russian River Valley, thence by way of Cloverdale out to
the coast, and thence up the coast to Mattole River, which
was our destination. On the banks of the river, a few miles
from where it flowed into the ocean, a little town had
risen, called Petrolia. It was around the town for an area
of several miles that oil indications or seepages were
found at various points.

At the time we passed through Russian River Valley it

— 92— ' 1

Close of School Work

seemed outside of civilization. There were no railroads
and the distance to market for the farmers' produce was
so great that grain grown there was fed to cattle and
hogs. We saw droves of hogs being turned into magnifi-
cent fields of ripe wheat. As soon as the animals became
fat they would be driven to market; thus the farmers
harvested their crops by turning the grain into pork, and
solved the problem of transportation by making the pork
carry itself to market points. The land was exceedingly
fertile and everything grew most luxuriantly. The grain
stood as thick as could be, with heavy heads waving, as
high as the fences. The growth of corn was prodigious.
We passed one field where the stalks seemed to average
between ten and twelve feet in height. The road from
Cloverdale to the coast has been changed but little, if
any, in location, though the country on either side has
been settled to far greater extent in recent years. The
same is true of other coast highways. In the hundred
miles or so traveled along the coast, from a few miles
above Mendocino City, we encountered only two habita-
tions, one of which was occupied by a couple of hunters.
There was no wagon road, and for the best part of the
distance no trail, other than those made by the wild
animals. Magnificent forests of redwood and tanbark
oak covered the mountain sides, the beauty of which no
woodman's ax had yet marred. How different now ! This
entire stretch of country is dotted with lumber mills and
ranches, and I am informed the timber is about all cut
on the mountain slopes facing the ocean, and the timber
men are logging from the back or east side of the ridges
paralleling the ocean shore. In traveling through this
section we were able to ride along for many miles on the
sands of the ocean beach. The route would be blocked at
times by rocky points jutting out into the ocean, when we
would have to take to the hill and mountain side. At one
of these places we found it dangerous work to get around.

— 93 —

lircoUcclious of a NpiiKspnprrman

A narrow but very deep canyon came down almost paral-
lel to the beach. On the ocean side tliere was a pt rpen-
diciilar clill" which lell only a thin slice of the mountain
between the canyon and ocean. The only way out for lis
was to go up on the edge of the slice. We could see the
trail made by animals going up and down. We dis-
mounted and, with the pack horses ahead, started up.
It was not only steep, but the edge was so narrow that
in places you could, by turning your head, look down
either side and, at the most elevated point, a distance of
some four or five hundred feet to the beach. All went
well with us until near the top, when in a very narrow
place, the pack horses stopped to nibble some inviting
bunches of grass. Being next to them in the procession,
it fell to ine to get the animals moving on the trail again.
To do this I had to go a portion of the way on my hands
and knees, to reach the straying horses and start them
again on the trail. I was somewhat unnerved by the situ-
ation and fearful of serious accident. A few yards fur-
ther on and we were out on safe ground.

Before we left home we had been supplied with a rough
map, giving an outline of the route by a party who had
been over it a short time previously. It was frequently
referred to during the last few days of our journey. At
last, from our interpretation of the map, we concluded
we had reached a point from which one day's ride would
take us into the oil fields and to our destination. We
decided that by caching all of our provisions, cooking
utensils, etc., our pack horses would be so relieved that
we could travel faster and reach the end of the journey
early in the afternoon. As we were to stop at the oil
company's camp we would not need any of the provisions
until we should reach the cache on our return trip. We
found a suitable place among some rocks in a little
gulch where we felt reasonably sure our things would be
safe until we should need them. We selected enough

— 9i —

Close of School Work

food for our lunch and took along the coffee pot as indis-
pensable for the noon meal. We rode along rather
briskly, frequently comparing the landmarks with our
map to find indication of the end of our journey. Noon
came but we had not yet been able to identify any place
pointing to it, though, from the number of miles we had
put behind us in that forenoon, we thought we should be
near the mouth of the Mattole River. At lunch we finished
the last morsel of food we had taken with us. Resuming
our journey, hour after hour passed until near sundown,
when we came to a place on the coast where we could
see ahead for several miles, but the landmarks locating
the river were not visible. We concluded it would be
unwise for us to attempt to finish the trip in the dark
and there was nothing else to do but camp where we were.
We had nothing to eat and were hungry. While standing
around discussing the situation I felt a trifle chilly, so
put on my coat for the first time after the first night out,
and, putting my hand in a pocket, I felt a package, which
I removed to see what it was, and to the delight of all
hands it proved to be a part of a paper of tea that the
cook had put in the pocket of my coat, conveniently
hanging near the camp fire of that first night out. A
couple of the party went to the beach and gathered some
mussels from the rocks. Up on the mountain side a half
mile or so was seen an Indian shack. I rode there in
hope of being able to get something to appease our hun-
ger, and found a half-breed man at home. After consid-
erable parleying I purchased two loaves of bread — all
he had. These loaves were about ten inches wide by
fourteen long and an inch and a half thick. At first he
denied having any eatables but finally brought out the
bread at the sight of a dollar. Further offers of money,
however, were of no avail in getting anything additional.
When I dumped the bread in a sack I concluded that by
weight I had not paid a very excessive price for it. I also

— 9.5 —

I\t'C()llc<li/ins <if {I \/'insp(if}rrni(m

noticed some lilllc !miij)s over llic loj) surface of the
loaves Hie sanic as raisins indicale llieir |)resenee in cake.
Kxaniinalioii sli()\v<(l, however, that, instead of raisins,
the loaves IkkI lieeii shid'ed will) ijrassliojjjxrs. When I
got back to eanij) Hie other men had returned with a hit
of mussels, so with our bread, tea, and mussels we had
a meal that salistied our hunger, at least. We picked
the grasshoppers out of the so-called bread, though. We
saved one loaf and some of the mussels for breakfast,
but, as nearly all of the party suftered from illness during
the night, we had "loaves and fishes" to spare after the
morning meal. Some charged the illness to the shell fish,
others to the grasshopper bread, but as one member of
the party had not eaten the mussels and was the only
one who escaped the sickness, we finally concluded the
trouble was due to some poisonous substance in the
mussels. I know I could not eat a mussel for many years
after the incident. Our illness resulted in a very early
start in resuming our travels. It is well we did not
attempt to complete the journey after dark the night
before, for we did not reach Petrolia until some time
after noon that day. Upon reaching the mouth of Mattole
River we turned inland from the beach, riding along the
banks of the river, and in a little while began to detect
the odor of oil in the air. We then forgot all our troubles,
for surely this smell of oil pervading the air must mean
that there were endless quantities of it, which spelled
wealth for us. I was somewhat intoxicated by the odor
of oil, like others of the part}', and felt as I thought
a millionaire must feel. Subsequently, we visited all
parts of the oil field and, although at no place were more
than five barrels per day being recovered, we were not
discouraged, for in our ignorance of the business w^e con-
cluded where there was a little oil on the surface there
must be great quantities waiting to be tapped by the
drills.

— 96 —

View of Napa River looking; oast Iroin the end of Socoiul Street. It was in tliis

bend of the river where the steamer landing was first established. The river in

the right foreground was the "swimming hole" for the boys of pioneer days

and the place where the author learned how to swim.

One of the pioneer flour mills of Napa Valley that became famous in after years

as a landmark and lor its great vine-covered water wheel.

One of the first houses erected in Napa. It is still standing. In its time it has

done service as a hotel, residence, store, and boarding house. It is one of the

type of "ready-made" buildings sent around the Horn in the earliest of pioneer

days.

Close of School Work

In a week's time we were homeward bound. We found
our cache as we had left it. I can recall only a couple of
incidents on the homeward trip worth relating. One
afternoon while Crossing Shelter Cove Mountain we
noticed a small band of deer off some distance on a ridge
favorable for a shot. We left one of the party, who was
not a hunter and had no gun, on a little flat in charge of
our horses and pack animals while the remainder of the
party went after the deer. We were absent possibly a
half hour. When we got back not a horse was in sight
and our friend was sitting on a log, his face as white as
a sheet. In response to our inquiry as to what had hap-
pened, he said we had hardly turned our backs on him
when a large grizzly bear had come out of the thick
brush but little more than fifty feet away, and sat up on
his haunches as if to inspect the trespassers on his domain.
When the bear gave a loud sniff or two the horses jerked
away in terror, racing off to the east. After the horses
had disappeared in the brush, the bear eyed the man
for a while, then returned to the brush whence he came.
Our friend acknowledged that he was "frightened stiff"
and momentarily expected the grizzly would come back
and make a meal of him. He said the pleasantest sound
he ever heard was that of our voices when returning.
We were now all on foot without blankets or food, and
miles from any habitation of man. Fortunately the horses
had taken the direction we had intended to go when they
started on their flight. It was easy to follow their trail.
We began to find blankets, cooking utensils, provisions,
etc., belonging to the packs, scattered along the way, and
all hands were loaded with these things before we came
up to the animals, which were quietly feeding in a little
valley or depression on the mountain top. They had
given us a rough tramp of two or three miles, but caused
nothing more serious.

One day we encountered great quantities of wild pigeons.

— 97 —

Hrcollcclioiis of (i ScinspdpcrnKiii

\\\vvy\n)i\\ declared lieic was our opportunity for a
pigeon pot pie. I killed in a very short time as many
as were Ihouglil neeessaiy lor the meal. 11 was dark
before vvc found a suitable camping place. All hands
went to work prei)aring for the fine meal we had been
anticii)ating, and the pigeons were put to boil in a large
iron pot we had for such purposes. They boiled and
boiled, but no amount of fire or cooking seemed to make
their meat tender. Finally, about 9 o'clock, when our
hunger would not permit of further delay, we decided we
would have to eat them, even though not tender. No
crowd of campers ever sat down to a meal with stomachs
so empty of food and minds so filled with joyous expec-
tancy. Everybody selected pigeon for his first mouthful
and that proved enough. We could have overcome the
toughness of the meat, but when we found it as bitter as
quinine we could only spit it out, with exclamation of
language that would not appear nice in print. The birds
had probably been feeding on acorns or some other food
which had imparted the most bitter taste to their flesh.
That supper was long remembered by the members of
our party. The distance we traveled from Napa to Petro-
lia was estimated to be about 250 miles. With the side
trips and return, we calculated we had, in all, ridden
about 600 miles and had traversed a lot of wild country
in which we had not even a trail to mark the way. The
mountainous part was extremely rough. We all returned
home in fine shape, pleased with our experiences and full
of hope and expectations of great wealth coming to us
from the oil lands. However, the investment in the oil
company stock proved a total loss. Although our com-
pany bored a couple or more wells at places where oil
was plainly visible seeping out of the ground, and thou-
sands of dollars were expended in various other places
in the district, no oil in paying quantity was ever found.
Wells were sent down to great depths but without finding

— 98 —

Close of School Work

oil in greater quantity than to make the "smell" referred
to. I never regretted the loss of the moneJ^ In truth,
in after life I regarded it as a profitable investment, for
the loss tended to curb my disposition for speculation
and taught me the fallacy of jumping at conclusions and
that appearances and smells were not to be relied upon
as being more than indications. Not very long after this,
the entire country was in a state of speculative frenzy by
reason of the great wealth found in the Comstock mines.
I went through it all without a touch of the fever.

At the time of the trip to the oil country I did not fully
value the privilege that came to me of riding through a
goodly part of Nature's grandest and only exhibit of the
kind in the world, the California redwoods in their primi-
tive state — a forest of majestic trees, beautiful in their
symmetrical form, and imposing and magnificent in their
great girth and height. Little did any of us think that,
within a comparatively short time, the ruthless logger, who
had already begun the work of destruction at points nearer
settlements, would invade and have cleared these forests.
But, as already stated, such is the fact. Some of the red-
woods were of immense size. I remember passing a tree
with the base burned out, making a cavity in which our
entire party might have encamped. I rode my horse into
the opening and turned him around so as to come out
head first. I did this without difficulty. The tree was
very tall and was so large in diameter that the cavity at
the base did not endanger its stability.

I have said we all enjoyed the trip, but that is hardly
an accurate statement, for there was one drawback to the
pleasures, affecting one of our party. As soon as we got
into the wild country he was in mortal fear of Indians. A
part of the country traversed by us had been largely under
the domination of bad Indians, but really there had been
no danger froin them for a year or two. Fighting with
them had been brought to a close after they had been

~9<J —

lircollcclioiis of (I i\('insj)aperman

hadly bealcii l)y llic wliiles and many ol llicir nimihcrs
slaughtorcd. riuy had hccn "pacified," and tiic majority
ol" our j)arly who knew the character of the aljorigines
well enough to feel secure against any attacks on this
trip iWd not let the thouglit of Indians interfere with th( ir
sleep or enjoyment of the journey. For myself I was
not so sure of the peaceful conditions of the Indians, or
that they might not take a notion to become bad again on
short notice. However, during daylight 1 felt no apprehen-
sion whatever, and at night the man who w^as so nervous
could not sleep, so 1 knew we could not be taken by sur-
prise. I did not feel it necessary to remain awake or to
take notice of any strange noises about camp. The ner-
vous man attended to all that while we enjoyed our rest
undoubtedly all the more, because we had a man con-
tinually on guard. At the time we considered the matter
a joke, but now I am inclined to think we were very
inconsiderate of the feelings of our friend.

There was another oil excitement in Napa which for
a few days overshadowed the Humboldt oil interest.
Doctor Stillwagon, a great wag, declared Napa to be the
greatest country on earth, and felt it should not be
excelled or outdone by any other section of the state. As
the production of mineral oil seemed to be a subject
uppermost in every one's mind and most attractive as a
source of wealth, the doctor further said that oil should
be found around that section somewhere without delay,
and took it upon himself to make the discovery. His large
practice as a physician took him almost daily into the
country. On one of these trips he returned with a soda
bottle filled with water and oil in about equal propor-
tions. This he exhibited to town people, stating it had
come from the Goodrich ranch about three miles east of
town. The news of finding this oil spread quickly, cre-
ating intense excitement. Soon the road to the ranch was
filled with vehicles conveying people to the newly dis-

— 100 —

Close of School Work

covered oil field. A company was organized to buy lands
and bore for oil. The news reached San Francisco.
People came from there to see the oil. Everybody was
shown the spring on the side hill with a film of oil floating
over the water. All the visitors who saw it were convinced
that oil had been discovered. Doctor Stillwagon seemed
depressed, however, and had little to say other than to
caution his friends against excitement. The discovery
was three or four days old when a couple of well-known
San Franciscans came up to see the spring. I piloted
them to the ranch. When we arrived there the owner's
little boy ran out to open the gate that we might drive
through. As he did so one of the gentlemen, throwing
the boy a quarter, said, "Bub, how much oil did daddy
put in the spring this morning?" The boy, to the great
surprise of all hands, replied as promptly as an impedi-
ment of speech would permit: "A-a-about a b-b-bottle
f-f-full!"

It is almost needless to say, this candid answer exploded
the local boom, to the great delight of the doctor, who
had only intended to have a little fun, but was greatly
worried when the joke got away from him, and he found
his words of caution were regarded by his friends as
efforts on his part to mislead them for selfish interests.

101 —

CHAPTER VII

SQUATTIER THOl BIJ:S

Disputes of Land Titles in Settling the Validity and Boun-
daries of Mexican Grants — Incidents Arising in the
Contest Over the Suscol Grant — Murder of a Settler
While in the Custody of an Officer.

When the result of the war with Mexico brought the
Territory of California into the United States, it was
agreed in the articles of peace that our government
should recognize and respect all Spanish or Mexican
grants of land within the territory and protect the owners
in possession thereof. As a rule these land grants covered
the cream of the land in the districts where land was
considered by the Spanish and Mexican settlers as worth
holding. In very many cases the boundaries were so
poorly defined that much litigation followed in after years,
when adjoining property became valuable and it became
necessary to establish definite lines. Then there were
some grants which proved to be of fraudulent origin, and
there was more litigation to establish the fact. Many
innocent purchasers suffered in such cases.

Grants, genuine in character, were assailed on techni-
calities or trumped-up charges of fraud. This was the
case of the General Vallejo grant, known as the Suscol
grant, which practically covered the land lying between
the Suisun marshes on the east and the marshes of Napa
River and Mare Island Strait on the west, and from Car-
quinez Strait on the south to Suscol Creek, some ten or
twelve miles north. During the first years of American
occupation the land of this grant was regarded as inferior
on account of its hilly character and exposure to the sweep
of the trade winds from off San Pablo Bay. but when two
— 102 —

Squatter Troubles

towns began to grow upon it — Benicia, named after the
owner's wife, and Vallejo, given the family name — and
the soils of the hills, even to their tops, were found to
be exceedingly fertile, the attention of land sharks was
drawn hither, and the validity of the grant to General
Vallejo was attacked. Among the soldiers who came to
California during the war with Mexico was Captain John
B. Frisbie, in command of a company of New York vol-
unteers. Having married one of General Vallejo's daugh-
ters. Captain Frisbie took up the defense of the title to
the grant. A very large part of the grant had been sold
to settlers. Of course the attack made on the legality of
the grant affected the validity of the titles of all the set-
tlers or owners, and as quickly as the titles were ques-
tioned, squatters made their appearance in formidable
numbers and located on the best of the land on all parts
of the grant. The settlers organized to defend their inter-
ests and the squatters did likewise to present a strong
front in an offensive campaign, and a veritable war was
on. The shacks erected by squatters in their attempt to
take possession of land would be torn down, only to be
put up again. Settlers and squatters went about armed
with rifles and pistols. There was shooting; blood was
spilled; murder was committed; the courts were filled
with cases arising from this trouble. Even Congress was
finally appealed to. Captain Frisbie was an exceedingly
active and forceful man and he led the settlers' side in
a most vigorous manner. The fight was bitter and event-
ually culminated in the waylaying and wounding of a
squatter, and in turn the assassination of the settler who
was supposed to be responsible for the shooting of the
squatter.

The squatter was traveling along a public road, not
very far from the town of Vallejo, after dark, and was
shot by a man hidden in a fence corner. The victim had
been accused of an attempt on the life of a settler, using

— 103 —

liccolh'chOns of <i Xcm.s/xijjcrnKm

llu- sainc MU'lliod oT attack. HowcNcr, the .s(juatlt is were
incensed. A settler by the nainc of Manuel Vera was
accused of the crime and threats afjaiiist his life were
openly made. He was placed under arrest, hut there was
no jail in Vallejo, so, while arranginf^ for bonds and to
safeguard him while the arresting officer went home to
eat his supper, Vera was temporarily put in a room in
E. J. Wilson's family apartments in the second storj' of a
brick building in the center of town, the lower floor of
which was used as a postoffice and store. It was the
purpose to take Vera over to the navy yard for the night,
as he would be secure from all possible attack, once there.
The presence of Mrs. Wilson and her little children, it
was thought, would be sufficient to prevent any act of
violence while in the W^ilson home. The squatters were
determined to kill Vera. Their organization had sum-
moned a band of one hundred or more (the exact number
was never known), to assemble mounted, on the eastern
outskirts of town at sundown, undoubtedly for the pur-
pose of executing Vera. Their spies in and out of town
had been alert all day and in some way had obtained
know^ledge of the intentions to place Vera in the navy
yard for security of his person. It was supposed that the
leader of the mounted band was informed that he would
have to act quickly if the purpose of killing Vera was to
be accomplished. The shades of night were hardly closed
when the mounted band of squatters rode into town like
a company of soldiers, clearing the streets of all loiterers
until they halted before the postoffice. A certain number
remained to hold the horses of those who dismounted
and entered the building, going upstairs. It did not take
the others long to find Vera and riddle his body with bul-
lets. Seventeen wounds were found on his body, yet he
lived several hours after. Mrs. Wilson fortunately was
not compelled to witness the horrible deed, as she and
the children happened to be in another room. Neverthe-

— lOJ't —

Squatter Troubles

less, the affair was a terrible shock to her, mentally and
physically.

The bloody deed was committed and the authors of it
were out of town in less time than it takes to relate the
circumstances. The excitement in the community natu-
rally following such a crime was very great. The brutality
of the act — the murdering of a man in custody of an
officer — ^justified the people in denouncing the affair as
a hideous outrage against society and a cowardly act
against the laws of the land. As the men who committed
the deed had their faces blackened or covered with
masks, no member of the band was fully identified. The
squatters had many friends among the citizens of Vallejo,
and this fact probably prevented any success in the efforts
to detect and punish the individuals engaged in the assas-
sination. The grand jury met soon after the affair
occurred and seventeen persons were indicted for com-
plicity in the murder. It was feared that any attempt to
arrest and punish the perpetrators would be resisted by
the squatters and that more blood would be spilled, but
the Sheriff of the county secured the services of the Suisun
cavalry company, went to Vallejo and arrested all of the
accused men without any trouble. It was planned to
try them one at a time, but in the first case the jury
brought in a verdict of "not guilty," so thereafter all the
other cases were dismissed.

In the first stage of the legal fight the settlers were
victorious. The state courts upheld the validity of the
grant, but upon appeal of the case to the Supreme Court
of the United States they met with an adverse decision.
This court decided that General Vallejo claimed two
grants from the Mexican government — one in Sonoma
County, where his homestead was, and the Suscol grant,
the one in question. The court found that under the
Mexican laws a person could not hold two grants, there-
fore declared the Suscol holding an invalid grant. As

— W5 —

lircollcciions of (i Nrivsixiju'iiiKUi

may hv imagined, llic news of Ihc decision elated tlie
s(|ualler.s, who Ixcaine more aggressive, as well as more
iiiimerous, hul the seltlers were not beaten yet. Tiiey
held possession of their land where they could, by the
power of might, and appealed to Congress, where, in the
course of two or three sessions, the contest was finally
settled. The land endiraced within the grant was ordered
surveyed into townships and sections, as all public lands
were, but not to be opened to pre-emption. Finally an
act was passed which provided that the settlers who could
prove their titles to have been purchased from General
Vallejo or his assignees should be given a patent for
such holdings upon the payment to the government of
$1.25 per acre. These favorable acts of Congress were
not obtained without strenuous efforts, but they brought
the contest to a close with victory prevailing on the side
of those who had purchased the land in good faith and
no thought of insecurity of title. The squatters, how-
ever, attacked the authority of Congress to deny them the
right of pre-emption, and it was not until March 21, 1870,
that the decision of the Supreme Court of the United
States was rendered putting an end to the contest. The
decision was to the effect that the squatters acquired no
vested rights in the land that Congress could not take
away, unless the land had been actually paid for. When
the government ordered the grant to be surveyed, the sur-
veyor selected for the work was T. J. Dewoody, the leader
of our expedition to the Humboldt oil fields. He asked
me to make up one of the surveying party, acting as
chainman. As it was to be a short job I accepted the
position, and in the next few weeks dragged a surveyor's
chain pretty much all over the grant, singing out "stuck"
to the rear chainman's song of "stick." We camped out
the entire time and, as the work was light, wc enjoyed-
the employment as a frolic. One young fellow whom I
shall call Jim was particularly mischievous. He couldn't

— 106 —

Squatter Troubles

pass a farmyard without robbing the hen nests. Just before
noon one day he found a couple of dozen eggs which he
stored in between his shirt and body. Soon we started
down a long, steep hill for lunch. As the grass made the
going quite slippery, I invited the man with the eggs to
sit on a shovel blade while I should pull on the handle
and thus give him a ride down hill. He accepted and we
were soon going down at a rapid pace and, considering
the bumps, very unpleasant for the rider. He attempted
to stop by digging his heels in the ground and succeeded,
but the momentum threw him over on his stomach, smash-
ing every one of the two dozen eggs. He was a sight and
not in a frame of mind that made it exactly safe for me.
Fortunately for his comfort and the need of change of
clothes, we were near camp. On another occasion we
were resting on a little elevation overlooking a farm yard
and garden, while the chief and a gentleman named Hill
went away some little distance and temporarily out of
sight. They scarcely had their backs turned before Jim
was utilizing the telescope feature of the surveyor's instru-
ment, searching the farm yard and garden. Suddenly he
bounded off and in a few^ moments came back with a
couple of watermelons, and had just cut into them when
the chief and Mr. Hill returned. Jim politely asked them
to participate in the feast. Mr. Hill replied that while he
appreciated the courtesy, he thought Jim possessed a lot
of cheek to ask a man to eat his own watermelons. It
was then we learned that Mr. Hill owned the ranch.

We got so used to tramping that we thought nothing of
walking home, eight or ten miles, to Napa Saturday even-
ings after walking miles in our work during the day. The
week we were camped in Vallejo I missed the stage on
that Saturday night so walked the sixteen miles to Napa.

While we were working near the summit of the hills
northeast of Vallejo and making a monument in estab-
lishing a section corner, I found a rock about the size of

— 107 —

Recollections of a SeinsiKtjKTindn

a man's head. I called Me. Dcwoody's allciitioii lo its
great wcifjhl an<l peculiar aj)pearaiice. He immediately
pronounced it to be a rich piece of cinnal)ar or quicksilver
ore. As we were surveying and not mining, no search was
made by us to locale the source of this piece of ore. Some
fifteen years or more afterward a rich Fiiining prop{;rty
known as the St. John mine was developed near there.
In giving some outline of the history of the Suscol
grant I think I may relate some facts in connection with
a piece of land located in the extreme northwestern cor-
ner of the grant, or on the Napa River, at a point where
the Suscol Creek, which was the northern boundary of
the grant, empties into the river. They are not only inter-
esting but are illustrative of the opportunities for accu-
mulating fortunes in California in early days in ways
other than by digging for gold. In 1851, William Neely
Thompson, a lumber dealer in San Francisco, sold to
General Vallejo the lumber to build the state house in
Vallejo, which the general, with a certain amount of land,
presented to the state in consideration of Vallejo being
made the capital city. Mr. Thompson took as pay for the
lumber 320 acres of land, located as above mentioned,
allowing $12 per acre as the value of the land. Soon
after this deal, Simpson Thompson, a brother, arrived
from the Eastern states with the intention of establishing
illuminating gas works in San Francisco, but. finding that
coal used in such works would cost about $50 per ton,
gave up the idea. In the absence of any other occupation
he concluded he would see what he could do with the
brother's land at Suscol. He decided to plant part of the
land to orchard. Young trees, pits, and seeds were
obtained from the East and planted in the spring of 1853.
Peaches were produced from these pits in sixteen months,
and apples from seeds in two and a half years. Mr.
Thompson also had the foresight to see that there was
going to be a great demand for fruit trees, so decided to

— lOS —

Squatter Troubles

use some of the land for a nursery. In a very few years
the Suscol orchards and nursery were famed for their
fine fruit and trees and were known from one end of tlie
coast to the other. The first basket of peaches sold from
the orchard brought $23.75, or about 80 cents per pound.
I am quite sure this statement is true for, as stated else-
where in the memoirs, I saw peaches sell at -$1 apiece in
Sacramento. James Thompson, son of the founder of the
orchard, who succeeded to the care and ownership of
the place in after years, said the books kept by his father
showed that he received, in 1856, 70 cents per pound for
apricots, 50 cents for apples, and 30 to 60 cents for peaches
according to variety. The year before, they sold the cher-
ries for something like $3 per pound. In 1856 they sold
nursery trees from 60 cents to $1.50 each, and at higher
prices for large trees. The farm, orchard, and nursery
that year earned something like $40,000. The place was
in a high state of cultivation and improvement in 1871,
the last time I visited the orchards, but was not the money-
making concern it had been, owing to competition.

— 109

CHAPTER VIII

BEGINNING NEWSPAPER WOMK

Experiences in an Early Day Printing Office of San I'ran-
cisco — How Two Young Men Started a Daily News-
paper in Napa — A Move to Vallejo— Parting from
Home Ties — Founding of the Vallejo (Ihroniclr.

After having enjoyed the rare opportunities of outdoor
life for a number of weeks, I received a letter from Mr.
Ray, the journeyman printer whose acquaintance I made
in the Napa Register office, and who assisted in giving me
my first instruction in type setting, telling me he had
obtained the position of foreman in one of the best job
printing offices in San Francisco and I could have a place
with him at $15 per week. As 1 was anxious to work in ,
a job office where 1 could have some experience in job
work, 1 accepted the offer. This office was owned and
conducted by Edward Bosqui, in connection with a large
bookbinding establishment. He would take nothing but
the very best work, and the printing turned out from his
establishment had the reputation of being of superior
excellence. Mr. Bosqui was not only a fine gentleman
but a man of high ideals, kind and considerate to those
dependent upon him for employment. He never missed
an opportunity to talk with his men in a way that was
helpful and encouraging in their battle with the world.
His talk was always practical, logical, and convincing,
and the men could not help being the better for it. He
impressed upon them that loyalty, character, and energy
were everything in whatever business one might choose
to follow. He maintained that a man with these virtues
could succeed in whatever vocation he undertook, from
pegging shoes to selling diamonds. He exacted attention,

— 110 —

Beginning Newspaper Work

promptness, and truthfulness from his employees — rules
of conduct which were strongly reflected in his transac-
tions with customers. Here I worked for several months,
when Mr. Ray had to give up his place on account of ill-
ness. He was succeeded by an excellent printer named
George Daley, one of whose very first acts was to dismiss
two or three of the old hands, of which I was one, but as
soon as Mr. Bosqui heard of it he sent for me and had me
reinstated. However, I felt that my position would be
unpleasant, and when, a few days later, I heard that the
de Young brothers wanted a young man to work on their
paper I made application to them for the job. They were
publishing a little four-page paper called the Dramatic
Chronicle, in W. P. Harrison's job office down on Clay
Street. The three brothers, Gus, Charlie, and M. H., were
practically doing all the work of publication except the
press work. As I remember the distribution of their
labors, Gus attended to the business part, Charlie the
mechanical part, and M. H. the distribution of the edi-
tions. I had my talk with Charlie about the vacant
position. After questioning me as to my experience and
ability in a printing office he concluded I would fill the
requirements and should receive $18 per week. I was
elated with the chance to get away from the place
under Daley and so expressed myself to my associates.
They in turn dissuaded me from going to work on
a newspaper where less skill was required and where the
employment was more tiresome and no more remunera-
tive. So I sent word to the Chronicle office that I would
not accept the place. But I could not make up my mind
to work under Daley and told Mr. Bosqui that I must
leave him, so, with kindest words and advice, he let me
go. As I always had done when out of a job, I went to
my home in Napa.

In subsequent years the Dramatic Chronicle, mentioned
here, developed into a regular morning paper, eventually

Hccollrclions of a Xrn\spaj)rrtii(in

boconiing IIk- San I'lMiicisco CJironivlr of today, one of
the f^roat pjjpcrs ol" llic Pacific Coast. My refusal to take
a position on the paper was undoubtedly an important
turning point in my life. If I had gone to work tiu^re, in
all prohahiHly my career of life would hav(; been along
narrower lines and quite different from that which 1
have enjoyed and never regretted.

Before I close this chapter I must relate a funny inci-
dent happening in Mr, Bosqui's printing office. A great
many briefs for lawyers were printed there. One of the
regular customers was Ben Brooks, one of the most prom-
inent lawyers in the city at that time. All the copy for
the brief work was hand written, this being before the
day of typewriters, and some of the writing was abomi-
nable, and of this class the copy furnished by Mr. Brooks
was the worst. We seldom saw him. In fact, he was
known to only a few of us older hands. We had a brief
of his in hand for which he was in a great hurry. Some
outsiders had been called in to help "set it up," and to
be paid so much "per thousand" for their composition,
which fact made bad copy very objectionable. The copy
was, as usual, execrable. Finally one of the new hands
got stuck on a page and could make nothing of it. Several
of the other compositors gathered around, all trying to
help decipher Brooks's writing. The first man was swear-
ing rather loudly just as a tall stranger leaned over the
crowd, asking what the trouble was about. The reply
came back: "Oh, a blankcty-blank lawyer thinks he knows
how to write, but he couldn't make fish hook copy
for an A, B, C class!" The stranger took the copy, studied
it for a moment, then quietly handed it back with a smile
and a remark that he thought they were right. The stran-
ger was Mr. Brooks, who slipped out of the office smiling,
as if more pleased than annoyed because he could not
read his own copy.

At this time three newspapers were being published in

— in —

Beginning Newspaper Work

Napa: The Register, of Republican faith; the Reporter,
conservatively Democratic, and the Echo, radically Demo-
cratic. All were weekly publications, and, to use an old
joke, the Echo was especially weakly in size, circulation,
general appearance, and, in fact, weakly in everything
except the tone of its editorials. In these it was a regular
little spitfire. Its utterings against the federal government
and Republicans in general were unusually vicious — so
much so that it was in constant danger of having its office
destroyed by those whose feelings were outraged. This
treatment had been meted out to several other newspa-
pers in various parts of the state conducted editorially
along the same lines. The publisher of the Echo really
expected it, and I think was disappointed when the Re-
puljlican element of the town proved to be more tolerant
and law abiding than those in some other communities.
His name was Alex Montgomery. He knew little or noth-
ing about the mechanical part of newspaper work. For
some unknown reason we became very good friends, not-
withstanding the difference in our ages and the wide gulf
separating us politically. I was back in town only a day
or so when Mr. Montgomery came to me saying one
printer (all he had) had left him and he wished I would
go with him and "get out" the paper. I was pleased with
the acknowledgment of a publisher that I had the ability
to do all the mechanical work necessary to perfect the
issue of a newspaper, and it set my mind to work as to
what I might possibly do in the near future, instead of
working for wages for others. I accompanied him to his
office, which had about the smallest equipment for a
printing office I had ever seen. There w^ere only a few
cases of type, a composing stone and hand press. The
editor's desk was a large dry goods box at which he had
to stand to write. Either forced economy or expectation
of destruction of his plant denied him the comforts of a
stool or chair. I had set only two or three stickfuls of

— 113 —

Ucrollrclious of (i Nrmspaperman

type for his paper vvlicii he liini(l('<l me :i sin;ill piece of
copy characteristic of the Echo's general pohtical tone.
It fretted nie some to he the agent of (hsseinination of
such unpatriotic opinion, l)iil i smothered my wrath and
calh'd for more copy. This time it came in shape of a
particuhirly venomous reflection on some policy or act
of the government. I tliought I detected a malicious
twinkle in his eye when he handed me the copy. How-
ever, 1 had only put a few lines of it in type when my
indignation grew heyond control and I threw down the
composing stick, grabbed my coat and hat and left the
office, passing an opinion on the editor, the paper, and
his party that was more emphatic than polite. Neverthe-
less, he laughed as if the affair was a good joke, notwith-
standing the predicament he was in regarding the issue
of the paper. Seemingly the incident did not change his
regard for me in subsequent relations.

I was now a young man out of employment and began
seriously to consider plans for the future. Up to this
time I had been practically drifting along, dropping into
this place and that as the eddies of time had carried me I
concluded to make an effort to go into business for
myself. I had noticed that none of the Napa printing
offices was properly equipped for executing job printing
except in a crude way, so I approached the publisher of
the Reporter with a proposition to lease his presses and
material, which he very promptly accepted. I purchased
a Gordon job press and added it to the outfit in the
Reporter office and started work in business for myself.
My success came fully up to my expectations. Owing to
improved facilities I introduced, and modern ideas
obtained by experience in Mr. Bosqui's printing ofTice,
the work turned out by me was some improvement on
what the business men of Napa had been getting. So I
had enough business to pay me good wages and encourage
me for bigger operations.

— lilt —

Beginning Newspaper Work

Working in the Reporter office on the newspaper was
a friend, Livingston Gregg, of about my own age. We
had been companions from boyhood, and now that we
were following the same vocation our relations were
closer, if anything. We discussed many projects in the
endeavor to work out a field to give play to our ambitions.
Some of our talk included the plan of starting a paper
somewhere. The publisher of the Reporter was cognizant
of our discussions and seemed anxious to forward our
hopes, so we made a proposition to him to lease his mate-
rial and start a paper which was to be called the Daily
Reporter. He was to have use of all the matter we put
into the daily for his weekly. As this would greatly in-
crease the amount of reading matter in his publication
and at the same time reduce his cost of labor and in
other ways lessen his work, he accepted the proposal.
Gregg and I were to be the owners and publishers of the
new paper, the first daily paper to be published in Napa.
We issued a neatly printed circular announcing the forth-
coming of the Daily Reporter and that its purpose was
simply to furnish a daily summary of passing events in
Napa and the surrounding country. In politics it was to
be independent. We did not desire to say neutral, for
that sounded as if we were lacking in courage. The rea-
son for our "independent" attitude was that Gregg was a
Democrat and I a Republican. This political complexity
bothered us considerably in framing our salutatory to
the public. But we finally reached the conclusion that,
as everybody in town knew our political predilections,
they would understand the necessity for our declaration
of independence in political matters, and, as they would
soon find out that we both thought alike in what consti-
tuted decency and honesty in politics, this feature of the
paper's policy would not be vei-y embarrassing or trouble-
some. The first number of the Daily Reporter appeared
on the morning of September 24, 1866, under the heading

— 115 —

Becollrrtioiis of (i NcinsjtdjxTiudii

of "Leacli & Grogg, piiblislurs jiihI j)r()j)ri(t()rs." Ncillier
one of us was yet twenty years of age, hut in our eyes it
was a man's paper, however the puhlie might look upon
it. We l)<)lh hiislh'd around the slrccl gathering the
news, set all \hv type, ran the forms off, or, in less tech-
nieal phrase, printed the paper on a hand press, and for
the first week, fearing the work would not be done just
as it should be, I delivered the papers to the subscribers
myself. I do not recall the number we printed, but I
do remember that after working hard all day and along
in the night getting the paper out, I was pretty well ex-
hausted when through delivering to the subscribers. In
fact, in that first week of publication we hardly went to
bed at all. In our solicitation for subscribers and adver-
tisements we met with generous response; therefore, when
the paper appeared, it was well filled with business cards
and general advertisements, and had an excellent list of
subscribers, considering the size of the population of
Napa. Like all daily newspapers of that period, our paper
consisted of four pages and the whole sheet was about
as large as a man's pocket handkerchief. But business
was good and we were soon able to enlarge the publica-
tion to a fair size for a country daily paper.

We were not restricted in time in the work of prepa-
ration and printing of this first issue — we had devoted
several days to it — but after the first number was issued
and we faced the fact that we had to do, inside of the
next twenty-four hours in the issuance of the second
number of the paper, as much work as we had performed
in getting out the first issue, it looked like a stupendous
undertaking, shaking faith in our judgment, to some
extent, as to whether we had not undertaken too big a
job, but our courage and zeal were not seriously dimin-
ished. It was near midnight when we finished printing
the second number. I obtained three or four hours' rest
and was out before daylight distributing the paper to sub-

— 116 —

Beginning Newspaper Work

scribers. When through with this part of the work, I
had my breakfast and was at the office early, again set-
ting type for the succeeding number of this paper, having
for copy items and suggestions picked up in my rounds
as carrier. Just how long we worked under this pro-
gramme I do not remember, but it was for at least a
week or two. We found we could afford to employ a boy
to deliver the papers and that it would be less exacting
upon us in the work of publication to issue the paper in
the evening, and as acceptable to our subscribers. There-
after we published the Reporter as an evening instead of
a morning paper. Considerable interest in our efforts
was taken by the public. Several of the citizens who
afterward becaine prominent in state and national poli-
tics contributed editorials and news items in assisting us
in our labors of publication. This was particularly true
of John M. Coghlan, afterward Congressman from this
state. He was a very popular resident of Napa and had
been but recently admitted to the practice of law. He was
an interesting writer with a keen perception of humor,
and everything he contributed to the paper attracted more
than passing notice. Wirt Pendegast, a State Senator,
was another brilliant and prominent man who occasion-
ally gave us the aid of his pen. Both of these men rose
to positions of power and influence in the state, but were
claimed by death in their early manhood.

Not many weeks after we had entered this field of jour-
nalism the Reporter office was visited by fire, which gave
us our first experience of misfortune. The fire was dis-
covered about midnight but not until after it had gained
some headway. It originated in the composing room, but
just how was never determined. The fire apparatus of
Napa consisted of a small hand-brake engine such as was
common in protection against fire in California towns in
those days. The water supply was from cisterns at the
street squares. The members of the fire company were

— 117 —

liccollcclioiis of (I NeivsjJdpcriiKiii

voliiiilccrs Iroiii ;iiii()I1L| (liosc cn^Mf^cd in hiisincss in
town. When liic lljirncs hc^nn (o jjoni- oiif ol (he windows
of the j)iinlin^ ollicc iind had worked U|) tlifou^h the roof
ol" llic Iniildin^, it looked as it' a very destructive contla-
gration was having its beginning, as the jjloek was l>uilt
up solid and, althougli mostly brick, the buildings were
not iireproof. The firemen, however, did excellent work,
extinguishing the llames before they spread to the adjoin-
ing apartments, as readily and effectually as would have
been done by a steam fire engine. The printing office was
badly damaged, though out of the WTeckage we recovered
my job press and the hand press on which we had printed
the paper, practically uninjured. We also found a few
cases of type that were usable, and with some assistance
from the other printing offices in town we got the paper
out as usual, though we were compelled to work for sev-
eral weeks in a room about 10 by 14 feet, where all type
setting, press work, and editorial work were done, until
our original quarters were restored.

Unlike any other newspaper enterprise since under-
taken by me, our little paper returned a profit from the
day of its first issue. Our subscribers paid us 25 cents
per week for the paper, which was then considered a
small price. This money, as well as the dues from the
advertising, was collected w^eekly and divided between
Gregg and myself after first paying all bills against the
firm. I think our earnings over and above all cost netted
each of us in the neighborhood of $30 per week. This
was more money than either of us had ever earned before.
Our success whetted my ambition for operation in a
larger field, and Vallejo, which at that time had no news-
paper, attracted my attention. I visited the town and
found considerable interest manifested in the idea of
having a paper started there, especially as it had been
practically settled that a railroad was to be built from
Vallejo to Sacramento, a matter that was infusing some

— 118 —

Beginning Newspaper Work-
new life into the navy j^ard town. My partner did not
share my ambition for larger operations, but his brother,
Wilmington Gregg, who v/as also a printer and quite an
able writer, did, but as he was unable to get his share of
the money necessary for the undertaking we put off going
to Vallejo for a few months. In the first part of May fol-
lowing he reported to me that he had succeeded in collect-
ing the $800 necessary for his share of the capital, so we
were now ready for the new venture. I made a present
of my share in the business of the Daily Reporter to my
friend and first partner, and the paper continued to be
published for many years, under various owners. With
my new partner I left Napa for the new field, never to
return there to live. It was with feelings of sadness and
thoughts of the many days of happiness I had passed there
that I bid adieu to the people I loved and who had been
so kind to me. I left with regret the country and those
blessed hills and vales that had yielded me so much
pleasure, as I realized I was stepping out into the world,
leaving my parental home forever. I held no fear of the
future, but there were regrets I could not suppress- — regrets
which every son who has loving parents must feel under
like circumstances. There were also other heart strings,
as one might suspect.

Besides the steamer every other day, there was daily
stage connection between Napa and Vallejo. The greater
part of the travel patronized the stage and it was by stage
we took our departure. The driver had been on the line
for some years and was a great big, generous hearted man
named Bill Fisher, popular with every one, and who loved
a joke as he did his meals. It was some time about this
period of which I have been writing, possibly a year or
two earlier, when greenbacks were only worth half their
face value, that Fisher had an experience with a big, burly
woman that raised a great laugh in two towns. To appre-
ciate fully this story one must be reminded that green-

— 119 —

liccollcclioiis of (I XciiKsjtdpcriiKUi

l);icks were exceedingly iiiii)()j)iil;ii- willi (lie jxcjple of
Caliloriiiu, and allliou^li (hiring tlie war and lor some
time tlu'reaflcr this kind ol currency (hsplaced the use of
gold entirely in the Eastern states, gokl coin remained the
currency ol the people of California. Every person wlio
attempted to discharge an honest deht with greenbacks
at their face value was ever after known as Greenback
Thomson, Smith, Jones, or whatever his surname might
be. The big woman in question was in the habit of mak-
ing a trip about once a week from Vallejo to Benicia and
back in Fisher's stage. The fare each way was a dollar.
The woman for a while paid her fare like other passen-
gers— the fares were always collected at a station about
half way between the two towns — and finally she ten-
dered a greenback of large denomination. Fisher, in his
generous way, told her to keep it, and made no collection
from her. Then the woman began to make a regular
business of tendering greenbacks. When Fisher demurred
she insisted upon his taking them at face value, relying
upon her belief that, having no small denominations of
greenbacks with which to make change, he would have to
continue handing back the depreciated currency. Learn-
ing that the woman was well to do and able to pay her
just debts and abide by the business rules of the da\', he
laid in a supply of sheets of one-cent postage stamps. The
next time she tendered a ten-dollar greenback for her
fare, Fisher took it and stuffed it into his pocket. Raising
the cushion of the driver's seat he pulled out 900 one-cent
postage stamps and handed them to the woman. She
dropped them, crying out, "What's that?" "Your change,
madam — one hundred cents on the dollar!" About this
time the wind caught the sheets of stamps, scattering them
along the road. Shaking her fist at Fisher, she bade him
drive on. The last he ever saw of her she was chasing
down tlic road recovering the last of the postage stamps
which gusts of wind had whirled away.

— 120 —

Beginning Newspaper Work

When my partner and myself arrived in Vallejo we
made arrangements to live at the Metropolitan Hotel, of
which D. W. Harrier was proprietor. The field in Vallejo
for starting a newspaper, especially a daily as we had
intended, w^as not as promising as we had anticipated, for
another firm had invaded the territory while we were
waiting to collect our capital and had started a weekly
paper which was called the Vallejo Recorder. It was very
apparent that the new paper was doing a profitable busi-
ness, but it was a grave question with us as to whether
the town would support an additional newspaper or not.
However, we began to look around for a location for an
office. The prospect of the town becoining a tidewater
terminus of a railroad system had begun to bring other
business concerns to the place and we found it impossible
to get a location that suited us. The only place that would
afford any accommodation was a dwelling house on Vir-
ginia Street, next to a livery stable. The owner had moved
or was about to move his family out. We engaged the
premises, although they were located on a back street and
the rooms were not well suited to our business. The next
thing to do was to go to San Francisco and buy type and
presses. Our outfit, consisting of a hand press with which
to print the paper, newspaper type, and a selection of
material for the execution of job printing, exclusive of
my job press which I had shipped down from Napa, cost
about $1400. We paid cash for our purchases, press, etc.,
much to the surprise of the dealers, for I afterward
learned that most of their business was conducted on a
credit basis. If we had known this we would not have
had to wait until we had raised the money for the pur-
chase of the plant, and thereby lost the opportunity of
having the first paper in the town. The material was
ordered shipped and we returned to Vallejo. We found
a letter here urging us to abandon the Vallejo project and
to go to Woodland, Yolo County, and start the paper

— 121 —

lii'coUcilions of (I XciiKsijdjjcrmdii

tluTc, gimraiilcciii^ .1 ciiciilMlion .nid liiisiiicss lluit were
more lliaii we could hope lo have in the beginiiinj* at
Vallejo. At that time there was no direct way of reaching
Woodhind by any means of piijjhc conveyance, so we
hired a horse and buggy and went there to give the projx)-
sition j)roper consideration. We found some ot tiie citi-
zens anxious for a newspaper, but the town was small
and we thought it held no particular encouragement for
the future. The promise of an immediately profitable
business was good. So we took the matter under advise-
ment while we journeyed homeward. We weighed the
prospects, present and future, of one place against the
advantages and disadvantages of the other as a field for
our enterprise, discussing the matter from all angles
during the day required for the trip back. By the time
we reached Vallejo we came to the conclusion that while
the Woodland idea assured us against financial risk, a
business there could scarcely expect much of a future
growth. On the other hand, while a newspaper under-
taking at Vallejo was associated with serious doubts as
to sufficient income to enjoy a profit from the start, the
place had exceedingly bright prospects, affording us a
more promising future, \vhich strongly appealed to us.
This conclusion decided us to adhere to our first plan of
starting the paper at Vallejo, changing it in one respect,
with the hope of avoiding the financial uncertainty that
bothered us. Instead of a daily issue, we decided to start
with a weekly publication. After paying in advance for
a week's board and deducting the expense of our trip to
Woodland, we had but little over $30 of our money
remaining on hand. Our material had arrived and we had
taken possession of the quarters which was to be the
home of the new paper. We had opened a case or two
when the landlord of the premises appeared. After sur-
veying our operations for a few moments he announced
in words and tone that sent a chill down our backs that

— 122 —

Beginning Newspaper Work

he always received his rents in advance. His manner
plainly indicated that we would have to part with prac-
tically the last of our cash surplus. As he left with our
$30 in his pocket, . my partner and 1 sat down on the
unopened cases and simply stared at each other. Finally
the humor of the predicament caused us to laugh, then to
discuss the serious side of the matter. We thought that
as soon as we could get the presses and material in work-
ing order we could make a few^ dollars per w^eek from
job work which we might solicit, but we could not figure
out sufficient profits to meet our board bill and rent for
office. The idea came to us that we could reduce our
expenses to a point of safety by getting an oil stove and a
few dishes and board ourselves. We confided our trou-
bles to an old bachelor acquaintance, a former resident of
Napa. To our great delight he gave us just such an outfit
as we had thought of. After dark, as secretly as possible,
w^e moved the cooking utensils to our office and were
prepared to board ourselves after the end of the week
for which we had paid at the hotel. It was not a very
pleasant beginning. We w^ere worried more by what we
thought people would think of our manner of living and
the possible exposure of our poverty than by the trouble
or w^ork of cooking. At the end of the week I attempted
to arrange with Mr. Harrier, the proprietor of the hotel,
for continuation of rent of our room in his hotel without
board. He began to question me and soon wormed out of
me a full statement of our embarrassed situation. He
laughed at the idea of cooking for ourselves and treated
the matter as a great joke. He insisted on our remaining
at the hotel until our financial circumstances would enable
us to pay our hotel bills. This act of unexpected kindness
was the solution of our financial troubles and created a
bond of friendship between us that was never broken,
and a debt of gratitude I was never able to meet.
We were now able to give our efforts unhampered to the

— 123 —

lircollcclions of <i S civspdjx'iindu

niatlors of our ciilcrpiisc. W'c decided lo ii;i!iie the paper
the Vallcjo CJiroiiiclc. In our prospectus wi- promised
those things coinnioidN' expected ol a newspaper, and
announced that in poHtics the Chronicle would he inde-
pendent and not neutral.

This was something a little out of the ordinary, Icjr in
those days party lines were sharply divided and partisan
feeling still ran high, heing one of the consequences of
the Civil War but recently closed. As a rule, the news-
papers were unquestionably Republican or Democratic
in their editorial expressions, and the claim of indepen-
dence was rare and used principally as a cloak for neu-
trality. After getting the office arranged to begin the
work of publication, the next thing to be done was to
make a canvass of the town for subscribers and adver-
tisements for the paper. This kind of work was repugnant
to both my partner and myself, but, knowing that it had
to be done, w^e started out. Gregg was to take one side
of the street and I the other, and interview every business
man in the town. We started in at the foot of Georgia
Street, the main thoroughfare. During the first half hour
I caught sight of Gregg going in or out of the business
places on his side of the street. Then I missed him alto-
gether. I kept at work on my side of the street until
the noon hour, glad of a respite from the hateful busi-
ness. At the office I found Gregg gloomy and despondent.
He had accomplished so little in his efforts to get busi-
ness that he became wholly discouraged and quit work.
I endeavored to brace him up to make another effort,
showing him the few contracts for advertisements and
subscribers I had obtained. It was of no use. He had no
faith in his ability and would not try. so 1 finished the
unwelcome job alone.

The first issue of the paper was made on Saturday,
June 29, 1867. Interest in the state election campaign was
just beginning to be awakened. The Republican candi-

— 124 —

Beginning Newspaper Work

date for Congressman from our district was Chancellor
Hartson of Napa. In our "independence," we advocated
his election and picked flaws in the characters of some
other Republican candidates, to even up the appearance
of our political attitude before the public. I was to reach
the voting age that fall, but lost my vote by change of
residence from Napa to Solano County. Two or three
issues of the paper had now been gotten out, and some
little job printing had come to us. We felt encouraged;
so one Saturday, after the paper had been printed, we
decided to hire a buggy and go to Napa for a visit to our
folks. One of the first persons we met in Napa was
Mr. Hartson, who was so pleased with our support of
his candidacy that he ordered $50 worth of papers and
handed me two $20 pieces and a ten in payment. The
transaction came near to taking my breath away. It was
the largest sum I had ever received in one account in
the business, and, besides, we now had enough money to
pay our board bill, rent, and incidental expenses for the
first month. We were still elated when we started back
to Vallejo the following Monday. When near town, at a
point where the road was graded up high for the
approach to a small bridge crossing, we were compelled
to drive down the sloping side of the grade to cross the
little creek which was then dry. When we came along,
carpenters had just taken up the old flooring of the bridge
to replace it with new planks. The creek bottom and
sloping sides of the road were covered with high weeds, and
we were fairly started down when an old sow lying in the
weeds with a litter of pigs jumped up in front of our horse
with a snort, frightening him so that he reared and
wheeled on his hind feet as if on a pivot, then bolted
like a shot out of a gun. This capsized the buggy, throw-
ing us both out with some violence. The horse ran back,
with the buggA' dragging upside down until it struck a
telegraph pole and was badly smashed. The horse passed

— 125 —

RevoUcclious of <t Mrivspaprrinan

oil oiil of sit»lit. My partner rt'ccivcd ;i ^iisli on one leg,
but otherwise was not liiirl. I landed sittiiif^ up af^ainst
the fence, as I first tliouf^hl uninjured. The first thing
I saw was a couple of $20 pieces lying on the ground
between my feet. I thought to myself that good fortune
intended to stay with us, as tliis find would pay for
repairs. The fairy gift, however, was (piickly dispelled
when I put my hand in my pocket and found the Napa
collections two "twenties" shy. In being propelled from
the buggy to the ground my body must have made a com-
plete revolution, otherwise the money could not have
fallen out of my pocket. 1 also found 1 had a seriously
sprained ankle. The horse had such a bad reputation
as a runaway that the liveryman never presented us with
a bill for the damages to his buggy. My injuries were
very painful, but with the assistance of Gregg and a pair
of crutches I managed to go daily to the office. Mounted
on a stool, with my injured foot propped up under the
cases, I set type all day, suffering every moment of the
time. I felt it was compulsory for me to do this, as we
did not have enough money to pay a printer to take my
place in the work of getting out the paper.

Our enterprise was meeting with a favorable reception.
We worked hard to make the paper interesting and at
the same time a factor in advancing the growth and popu-
larity of the town, and it was gratifying to know that our
efforts were not wdthout appreciation. Our cash receipts
were now sufficient to meet all our expenses, and that
was about all we cared for then, as we were certain
the business would in time reach a profit-paying basis.
In the course of two or three months R. W. Snow, who
had a brick building in course of construction on the
main street of the town, offered us the entire second storj'
for our business at a very reasonable monthly rental.
We were very glad of the opportunity to make the change
of location of the office, as the place we wer. in was

— 126 —

Beginning Newspaper Work

unsuited in every way for our purpose. In the new loca-
tion our business increased so that we felt it necessary
to employ a printer to help us with the mechanical work.
Gregg did the bulk of the editorial work at odd times, so
he would be able to put in a full day setting type.
I assisted him, especially in looking after news items and
attending to business matters, as well as setting up a
column or two of type each day. A little incident hap-
pened about this time which for a while promised very
serious results so far as I was concerned, but was finally
regarded as a joke by all but one of the principals. Very
early one Saturday morning, after the issue for that day
had been distributed, I was alone in the office, preparing
the mail edition, when I heard heavy footsteps on the
stairway. Soon a very large man, a stranger to me, made
his appearance in the office. Without introducing himself
or making any preliminary remarks, he announced that
he had come up there to lick the blankety-blank some-
thing who put that piece in the paper about him. It was
apparent to me that the man was not only able but deter-
mined to carry out his intentions, and as there were no
indications of insanity in his manner my only chance to
escape was to appeal to his reason. I first assured him
he must be mistaken in the paper that had offended
him. I insisted that he certainly had made a mistake
in the office, and turned to my work of wrapping up the
papers for the mail. These remarks and my action only
aroused him to more alarming demonstrations and strings
of "cuss words." There was no way out, and I had to
meet the issue, so I asked him to suspend hostilities until
I understood what was the cause of offense, and that it
undoubtedly would give him more satisfaction to feel
that I knew what I was being licked for. As the propo-
sition now stood, I certainly had not the remotest idea of
any item appearing in our paper that could give any one
cause of complaint, so I asked him his name. He replied,

— 127 —

Hccnlli'clinns of <i \ rivsjxipcrnxin

"I l()l)l).s." I llicii :isl<((l hill) lo point oiil tlic iiilicic cf)!))-
plaiiu'd ol. Iiilly coiilidinl lie would he iiuahlc lo do so,
when, lo my liorror, with sluikiiif^ linf^cr and another
strinj4 of oallis lie pointed lo a couple of verses entitled,
"Il()l)l)s, llie Ollice Seeker." The verses told in rliyine what
an irrepressihle olTice seeker Hobbs was, how. before
election, what an amiable person he was, how he dofTed
his hat to the ladies, kissed the babies, and patronized
church fairs, without putting on airs. And how, after
defeat, what an old crab he was, ever so sting^', with face
so dingy, he scared the children of!" the street, etc.
I declared that this was the first time I had noticed
the verses, and now^ Ihat they did seem to have a personal
application, inasmuch as he had just been defeated for
the nomination for Sheriff, 1 also would like to know,
myself, who wrote them and how they got into the paper.
I had an idea how it occurred, but I preferred to keep
it to myself until I could verify it to the satisfaction of
my excited visitor. The offending verses appeared at the
top of the column on the fourth page. It was our method
to print on this page nothing but reading matter clipped
from other journals. If my theory of how the Hobbs
verses got into the paper was correct, I would find on
the dead-copy hook the copy from which they were set
up for our paper in reprint form, which would be con-
clusive evidence that the verses were not original with
us. I invited Hobbs to help me look for the copy. We
went over the mass, piece by piece. At last there it was,
and, as I had conjectured, a piece of reprint. It had been
scissored out of an Eastern publication by my partner,
with no thought of the Vallejo Hobbs whom he did not
know, even if he had ever heard of him. As I afterward
learned from Gregg, he needed a little piece of matter to
fill out the column and had selected the unfortunate
verses without the slightest thought of any possible local
application. 1 handed Mr. Hobbs the copy, explaining

^128 —

Beginning Newspaper Work

how the remarkable coincidence must have occurred.
I probably impressed him with my innocence of any
connection with an attempt to bring ridicule upon him,
as he left the oflice in a more peaceable frame of mind
and afterward became one of the staunchest friends I
had in the town, although he never was quite reconciled
to the thought of wholly acquitting my partner and
accepting the theory of coincidence.

The election was over, and the Republican majority in
the state had been overturned. Haight, the Democratic can-
didate for Governor, had been elected, and our friend and
candidate for Congress, Chancellor Hartson, was defeated
by James Johnson. Republican party managers were
offended at the vote cast in Vallejo and began to take steps
to cause the discharge of such employees in the government
navy yard as were known to have voted the Democratic
ticket, and even the dismissal of those who were under
the suspicion of having so voted. This policy struck me
as being not only narrow and unworthy of a great party,
but something that must eventually bring injury to the
Republican organization, instead of advancing its voting
strength. I did not hesitate to express these views. My
stand, of course, pleased the Democrats and, on the other
hand, was offensive to the Republicans, and was thereby
the cause of some loss of business. The weeding out
process had been going along for some little time when
our paper made a humorous reference to an incident hap-
pening at the navy yard, as indicating that there was still
another Democrat left in the yard whom our Republican
friends had overlooked. A Democratic Constable, who
had a grudge against us because of some words had with
my partner over the matter of poll taxes, industriously
went around among all the Democrats in town known
to be patrons of our paper, showing them the item and
giving a different meaning to it. Upon the Constable's
say-so it was accepted as an offense against the Democrats
and, by night of the next day, about every Democrat

— 129 —

Hccolh'clioiis of (I i\('U)sf)(iprriiuin

who Ii.kI :in ;i(l\(ilis(in(iil in llic ( .hroniclc, ;iii(i ;il>()iil
rvcrv Dciiiocral who \v;is ;i siibscrilicr, gave us notice
lo (lisconliniK- puljlisliiiig Iheir "ads" or scndiiif^ them
Ihc |);i|)(i-. I'his was an experience in joiirn;ihsni (jiiite
new juhI unexpected. Sucli Democrats who came in
person lo eommiinicate their wishes, I treated cordially
as if the withdrawal of their business was an imma-
hrial UKillcr lo us, acknowledging written notices in
siniihir spirit. Tliis concerted action hit us pretty hard,
but no one but ourselves knew how hard. As we expected,
in the course of a few weeks the majority of these patrons
saw their error and how they had been misled, and
restored their patronage. If we had been resentful and
abusive to the extent which their unjust treatment ^)f us
in the first place might have justified, we perhaps would
have closed the door against any probability of a renewal
of their business. However, we had the good judgment
to leave the door open in an inviting way, and they
came back. The Republicans continued the policy of
weeding out all employees of the navy yard of Demo-
cratic faith and preventing their re-employment, and even
extended this discriminating policy to those Republican
workmen who had enough independence of mind and
character to "scratch" their election tickets. When the
Democrats came into power, through the election of Cleve-
land to the Presidency, they followed the same narrow-
policy, and party managers were able to accomplish their
purpose through the navy yard regulations that made
the selection, or left the naming of the men to be
employed and discharged in the hands of the navy yard
foremen. The spoils system of employment at the navy
yard continued to exist for nearly thirty years, or, until
civil service laws wTre made to apply in part to nax'y
yards. Neither the Republicans nor Democrats, as party
organizations, profited by adhering to the obnoxious sj's-
tem. On the other hand, it gave cause for stigma, scandal,
and bitterness.
— ISO —

CHAPTER IX

THE FIRST RAILROAD TO TIDEWATER

Great Impetus Given to the Growth of Vallejo — The Earth-
quake of 1868 — General Vallejo and Why the City
Was Named for Him — Popularity of the Railroad and
Its Management — The Steamer New World and the
Daring Act of Captain Ned Wakeman — Attempt to
Introduce the Chicago Grain Elevator System — Some
Vallejo Boys Who Became Distinguished in Public
Affairs in After Life.

The NEXT YEAR, 1868, was one of great activity in Val-
lejo. Heretofore the business of the community depended
almost entirely upon the employment at the government
navy yard, but now, for the first time in the history of the
town, considerable money from other sources was being
distributed among the people.

The railroad company had begun the work of con-
structing the road to Sacramento and grading for the
terminus at South Vallejo. Some Eastern men were erect-
ing a large grain elevator, on the plan of those in use
in Chicago, with the expectation of revolutionizing the
method of handling wheat in California in bulk, and ship-
ping in bulk to Europe, thus saving the farmers the enor-
mous outlay for sacks. The erection of a large flouring
mill was started and wharves and warehouses were being
built. These undertakings all promised much for the
future of Vallejo and influenced the expenditure of con-
siderable capital in the erection of new buildings in the
business section of the town, while new houses in the resi-
dence part of the city were springing up in every direction.

— 131 —

I\C(<tll('(li()iis of (I i\t'ii>.sj)(ip('riii(iii

I'lic ic.il cshilc (Ic.ilcr-.s were in clover. Siii'vcyors had
llicir hands I'ldl ol woi'k. The surrounding counliy lor
niih's was hiid oil" into slrccLs, lots, and blocks.

By May 11 of that year, the railroad track was laid to
Napa Junclion, a (hslance of six or seven miles from the
wati'rfront at Vallcjo. The railroad oHicials gave an
excursion and took out three carloads ol invited gue.sts,
employing a band to give more spirit to the affair. The
train was run out to the front, where a complicated device
called a track-laying machine was employed in laying the
ties and iron rails on the new roadbed. The railroad olH-
cials announced that the tracks would reach the heart of
the grain-growing section of the country in time to handle
the crop of that year, and would be finished to Sacramento
by August 1. It was further stated that the San Francisco
market price would be paid for grain at Vallejo. This
statement was received wdth enthusiasm, as it not only-
meant quite a saving to the farmer but it had the further
significance of establishing a grain dealing center at
Vallcjo.

The first big earthquake since the settlement of the
country by Americans was experienced in October of the
same year. It occurred about 8 o'clock in the morning,
and while no very great damage was done in Vallejo,
several government buildings in the navy yard suffered
some injury. The courthouse of Alameda County, then
located at San Leandro, was thrown down, and many
buildings in San Francisco were cracked and strained.
Only two or three people were killed and a very few
injured. Having been up quite late the night before,
working in the office, I was in bed at the time in the third
story of the Metropolitan Hotel. I jumped out onto the
floor but could only maintain my balance by holding on
to the footboard of the bed. The building seemed to sway
fully two feet with each oscillation, and I fully expected
at each swing that the next would whip the top of the
— 132 —

The First Railroad to Tidewater

building off into the street. I stood near a window where
I could look down on the street where I expected to land,
and there in the middle of the roadway was a lady school
teacher who boarded at the hotel. She was on her knees
with hands clasped in the attitude of prayer. The impious
thought crossed my mind that if I were in her place I
would make a different use of my time. There were a
number of shakes of much less violence during the day,
but as no material damage had been inflicted, the commu-
nity went on with its business and other affairs as if
nothing had happened, beyond a little manifestation of
nervousness on the part of some people when the succeed-
ing shocks came.

The business of the Chronicle grew, like other enter-
prises in Vallejo, and a daily issue of the paper was made
to take the place of the weekly, but for a few months the
venture was at the cost of all our incoine. It was during
this period that my partner became discouraged with the
prospect of ever establishing a profitable business in
Vallejo, and a visit from his older brother made him so
homesick that he suddenly asked me, one morning, to buy
his interest in the paper and let him go. Our relations
had been exceedingly pleasant and never a word of dis-
pute or disagreement had passed between us. He had
shouldered without complaint his share of the struggle
we had experienced, and I disliked to have him go. But
he had evidently been thinking the matter over for some
time, and no argument would change his resolution. I
had no money, but said I would see what I could do.
I went up town and laid the matter before a friend who
promptly advanced the money necessary, simply taking
my unsecured note for the amount. In less than one hour
from the time Gregg broached the subject, I was sole
proprietor and publisher of the Vallejo Chronicle. He
immediately took his departure, and I never saw him but
once or twice afterward. Up to this time it had been a

— 133 —

lircolhulioiis of <i X <-ti>si)<ij)frin(ui

slrii^glc In incci llic expenses of llie (l;iily issue, hiil Jilniost
inime(li;ilely llie business he^Jin to improve, f^rowiiif^
heyond ;niylliiiif{ we liiid jinlicipated lor lli:it slaj»e of the
f»nnie. When the eolleclions came in for the first month
allei- (Iregg h'ft me, I ha<l something hke $.'i()() over and
al)ove expenses, and I was soon able to take up my
note, which was done with no htth' feeling of j)ride and
satisfaction.

Hard work, close attention to the details of business,
and devotion of the paper to the town's best interest had
at last brouglil reward. In speaking of liard work I mean
it literally. For instance, from the day of the first publi-
cation to the time I acquired Gregg's interest, or for nearly
two years, he and I had done all the press work of printing
the paper on a hand press, both for the weekly and daily,
besides setting a greater part of the type for the publi-
cations. Also in some way I found time to execute all
orders for job printing, setting the type and running the
job press by foot power, while upon Gregg fell the bulk
of the editorial work. He w^ould make the rounds of the
principal streets once or twice a day for local news and
to interview friends, upon whom we depended for infor-
mation of the occurrence of anything worthy of notice
in the paper. No time was lost or wasted by us, for when
we went out for meals or any other purpose we were alert
for news items and discussion of subjects of local interest.
Keeping the books, making out bills, and attending
to collections fell to me, to do at such times as would not
lessen the amount of other daily routine work expected
of me. We must have given an average of about sixteen
hours daily to our work, although we invariably took
Sundays for rest. I can recall during that time but two
occasions of working on the Sabbath. One was the issu-
ance of an extra, giving the news of a frightful railroad
accident between Oakland and San Lcandro, where there
was a large death list, including some of California's

— lU —

The First Railroad to Tidewater

most prominent men. The other was caused by an election
emergency. Fortunately, we both had good health and
lost no time on account of sickness.

The improvement in the business of the Chronicle soon
enabled me to employ help to do the best part of the
mechanical work heretofore contributed by me. In fact,
in a very short time I had about all I could do in attending
to the business of the concern and superintending the
work of others. The paper was making money beyond
anything I had expected. I purchased a Hoe cylinder
press, as the circulation of the paper was overtaxing the
capacity of a hand press. The press cost between $1500 and
$2000. I do not remember the exact amount, but it seemed
like a large investment, although the paper required it. I
also purchased a bookbinding outfit and more job presses
and material. Our office was now equipped to make
blank books and to do all kinds of job printing. We had
no driving power for the presses. As was the rule in
many offices in that day, we had to depend upon foot and
hand power. Electric power had not been developed,
and steam power was costly and not easily obtained. The
new cylinder press was geared to run by hand. A big
Chinaman who frequently found interest in visiting our
office was very curious about the purpose and operation
of the new press. When it was set up he wanted the job
of turning the handle. He worked for me several months,
coming to the office every afternoon with great regularity
and remaining until the forms were off and washed.

Finally the necessities for steam power were so great,
I gave an order to Booth & Co.'s iron works in San Fran-
cisco for the construction of an upright boiler and engine.
W. R. Eckert, then a designer and draughtsman employed
by the government at Mare Island, and who afterward
became quite famous in his line, designed the engine for
me. The engine cost $1200, but it certainly paid for itself
many times over. Besides, it was a good advertisement and

— 135 —

Kfcollf'clidiis of (I .\('i(>si)(iprrnuin

il ;ilV(ii<l( <l me considiTiililc snlisljiclioii lo note llic imprint
oil our work, *'V;ilI<jo ('.liroiiiclf Stciini P(j\v('r I^rinl,"
csi)C'cialIy wluii I foiisidcrcd llicrc were not very m;my
power-driven plants in llic slalc oiilsidc of San i"rantiseo.
The oflice was now turning out eonsiderahle job work.
We had a power press, three job presses, ruling machine,
and bindery. The largest contract we had up to this time
was the printing of a directory of the growing city. The
entire printing and binding of the books were done in the
othcc. A couj)le of yoimg fellows came lo Vallejo for the
purpose of publishing the directory. They did not have
sufTicient capital and were soon in financial troubles, and
I had to take the business off their hands and complete
the undertaking. It was the only directory ever published
for Vallejo, and the size of the place, or business condi-
tions at the time, scarcely warranted the publication. The
book contained about 3000 names, which, with ordinary
communities, would have indicated a population of 15,000
people, but the growth of the city had been sudden. Many
men were engaged as workmen in the navy yard, and
many others were giving the new town a trial, with the
intention of bringing in their families later; consequently,
an estimate of the population can not exceed 10,000 or
12,000. To give any size to the book and to pad out its
pages we had to work up a lot of reading matter, some of
which was historical and interesting. From Doctor Platon
Vallejo, son of General M. G. Vallejo, was obtained the
contribution of an article entitled, "History of Vallejo —
Why So Named," from which the following is an extract:

The country round about what is now Vallejo was once
in the absolute possession of numerous tribes of fierce
and warlike Indians, who looked with no favor on the few
whites who from time to time appeared among them;
and they paid no heed to the mandates of the 5lexican
authorities, whose headquarters were at Monterey. In
1835 an expedition of 600 men was fitted out at Monterey
by General Figueroa, military commandant and governor
of the Department of California. This expedition was
— 136 —

The First Railroad to Tidewater

placed in command of General M. G. Vallejo, then an
officer in the Mexican service, and who had been for three
years previously stationed in the lower country, with
instructions to proceed with it to this region, and to
endeavor to make treaties Vvith the various Indian tribes,
if possible; and if unable to do so, then he was to attempt
their subjugation by force. The Indians showed no dispo-
sition to negotiate, and so General Vallejo determined to
use the logic of force. His first battle with them occurred
in Russian River Valley, and the second and largest one
was fought at what is now known as "Thompson's Gar-
dens," a few miles north of Vallejo. The place was then
called "Soscol" (which means "artichoke" in English)
and subsequently corrupted to "Suscol." In this second
battle General Vallejo lost two men, killed, and several
were wounded. Of the 700 Indians engaged, 200 were killed
and a large number wounded. But this chastisement
seemed only to exasperate them, for immediately there-
after they congregated in immense numbers from all the
valleys round about, completely hemming in General Val-
lejo and his little band of soldiers. He notified General
Figueroa of the state of affairs and asked to be immedi-
ately reinforced, adding, like a true soldier, that, if neces-
sary, he would fight with what force he had as best he
could. General Figueroa promptly replied that he would
himself come to his assistance with 600 men, and desig-
nated Petaluma Creek (now Lakeville) as a place of
rendezvous for the two forces. After the arrival of this
large band the Indians concluded that it would be wiser
to make treaties than to fight, and so a grand council or
"pow-wow" was had, treaties were made, the pipe of peace
was smoked, and quiet once more reigned. This effected.
General Figueroa returned to the capital (Monterey) with
all his forces, leaving General Vallejo behind with a small
number.

At this time the commander-in-chief directed Genergl
Vallejo to lay out a town where Sonoma is now standing.
He did so, and a colony of 450 Mexican families was sent
to occupy it. But this colony was not successful. The
people became discontented and mutinous, and General
Vallejo placed them all under arrest and sent them back
whence they came. The general had by this time become
Enamored of the country and determined to make it his
permanent abiding place. To this end he applied to the
supreme government for a tract of land, and was invested
with the ownership of what is now known as the Petaluma

— 137 —

liccollfidoiis of <i Xrii).s[)(i[)t'rnian

graiil. At \;iii<)tis liincs diniiif^ llic hoiihlcs of Mexico
jukI licr coiisccnicnl jxciiiiiaiv sirails, (iciicral V^illcjo
runiislicd Ilic f^ovciiimciil lai'^c sums ol money and other
sii|)|)lies. Ill eonsideialioii of" these lavors, and in part
paymenl lor his sei\ic-es as an ollicer in the government
employ, the Soscol rancho was dee<led to him. It was
then known as the National rancho.

When CaUrornia was ceded to the Americans, General
Vallejo accepted the new order of things and was elected
to the convenlion called to frame a state constitution.
Suhsecpienlly, when in the Slate Senate, the name of
"Solano" was, at his suggestion, given to this county, heing
the name of an Indian chief who had aided the general in
the war against the Indians. He proposed the name of
"Eureka" for what is now the City of Vallejo, but his legis-
lative colleagues, appreciating his efforts for the settle-
ment of the place, determined to honor him by giving to
it his own name.

In 1850, General Vallejo determined to have the state
capital permanently located at this place, and to this end
he presented a memorial to the Legislature. He proposed
to grant to the state, free of cost, twenty acres, for a state
capitol and grounds, and for other state buildings 136
acres, making in all 156 acres, in the most desirable parts
of Vallejo. But, more than this, he likewise agreed to give
$370,000 in gold! After a struggle, Vallejo was made the
capital of the state. But it was not permitted long to be
such. It did not subserve the interests of politicians that
it should.

The general's life was a stirring and eventful one. as a
pioneer, a soldier, and a legislator. Indeed, it would be
hard to find a record more romantic, and a life more
honorable. He was born in Monterey, Gal., in 1808, when
Spain ruled the land. When Mexico won her indepen-
dence, the republic had no warmer supporter than Gen-
eral Vallejo, who, true to his Bepublican instincts, opposed
and defeated a plot, entertained by some native Cali-
fornians, to turn the country over to the monarchies of
either England or France in preference to allowing it to
become a part of the United States.

B. T. Osborn, a pioneer, told me that the first house in
Vallejo was erected by him in February, 1850. It was a

— 13S —

The First Railroad to Tidewater

small affair, 10 by 10 feet. He did not know just where
the main street was intended to be when he built, but it
subsequently turned out that the dwelling was located in
the "heart of the city."

I think it was about this period (1868-9) that Adolph
Sutro launched his great scheme of driving a long tunnel
into Mount Davidson, Nevada, to ventilate the Comstock
mines and drain the water from them. The mines were
hot and the abundance of water was a great hindrance in
mining operations. At this time the project was regarded
as a stupendous enterprise and attracted much attention.
As it was a live topic, we gave the subject some space in
our editorial column, favorably commending the scheme
as well as the courage and enterprise of Mr. Sutro, with
no thought of our comments ever reaching his eye. In
the course of two or three weeks I received a letter from
Mr. Sutro, thanking me for the editorial, and enclosing
an order for 100 shares of the stock of the tunnel com-
pany, to be delivered to me when the certificate should
be ready for issue. I put the letter and order away and
the matter passed out of my mind. Some eight or nine
years afterward, while walking down California Street in
San Francisco, 1 noticed a sign in a hallway, "Office of
the Sutro Tunnel Company," which brought to my mind
the order for the stock, 1 called upon the secretary, who
told me my order was still good. Subsequently I received
the 100 shares. These were in my possession for some
three or four years, when at home one evening about 9
o'clock, reading a San Francisco newspaper, I noticed a
quotation in the New York market of the tunnel stock at
something like $5.88 per share. I grabbed a hat and
ran for the telegraph office, which closed for the day at
9 p. M. 1 got there just in time to send a message to a
friend in New York to sell 100 shares of Sutro tunnel
stock for me. I realized something over $500 from the

— 139 —

Ixccollrrlioiis of <i S rinsjxtjx-rindn

sale. I Ii.'mI iicNcr lutliccd ;i (inot.ilioii ol the slock before
and I do not rcmcinhcr llial I have ever seen one since.

ir niiylliiiif^, (lie husiiuss coiidilioiis in Vallcjo were
belle r ill Ibc year 18()9 tbaii in the ijicccdin^ one. Tbe
raih-oad to Sacranunto, Woodland, and Napa had been
completed, which made the establishment of f,'reat lumber
yards in Vallejo possible and prolitable. The handling
of lumber and wheat and the manufacture of flour on a
large scale, with the railroad shops, embraced the features
of Vallcjo's new business. I remember that about this
time I made a careful estimate of the amount of money
being disbursed monthly in Vallejo for salaries and wages
by sources wholly independent of the navy yard or gov-
ernment control. While I can not recall the amount, I do
remember it was fully equal to the sum disbursed monthly
by the government at the navy yard. Ocean ships lay
alongside the wharves to be loaded with wheat for Euro-
pean ports. In the height of the shipping season, two or
three ships each week w^ould be dispatched with cargoes
complete. The coming and going of river steamers, the
frequent arrivals of huge grain-laden barges, and the ply-
ing back and forth of tugboats that handled the grain
ships gave an appearance of commercial activity to the
harbor which played no small part in the formation of
the opinion, generally entertained at that time, that Val-
lejo must certainly grow to be the second city on the
coast. There were some people so enthusiastic on the
subject that they expected Vallejo to surpass San Fran-
cisco in population and business importance, and this
notion was not confined solely to local residents, but was
shared by people of San Francisco and Sacramento, who
invested freely in Vallejo city lots. Moreover, the faith in
great things for the place was also entertained by some
very prominent financiers of the Eastern states who had
real estate holdings in Vallejo, and were occasional vis-
itors there. Among those whom I now recall was Colonel

The First Railroad to Tidewater

E. H. Green of New York, husband of Hetty Green, who,
after the death of the colonel, became famous as a finan-
cier. Orange Judd, the famous publisher; Joseph Medill,
and several other of the most prominent citizens of
Chicago were also among the number. All of these were
subscribers to my paper. Colonel Green was a stock-
holder in one of the banks of Vallejo. It was only within
the last few years (in 1914) that Mrs. Green disposed of
the holding. Admiral David Farragut, the greatest naval
officer of the Civil War, was the owner of two of the
largest brick buildings in the town. Colonel John P.
Jackson of the big law firm of Hoadley, Jackson & Johnson
of Cincinnati, Ohio, was one of the large owners of Vallejo
property. Colonel Jackson subsequently became president
and general manager of the Vallejo railroads and steamer
lines. There were others of prominence in the business
world, whose names I can not now recall, who pinned
their faith in a great future for Vallejo by investments
in real estate there.

The first lot of freight hauled by the railroad company
was a train load of wheat piled on flat cars. Upon notice
of its coming, citizens flocked to the side hills back of
town shouting a welcome and giving voice to expressions
of pleasure at the sight which meant so much for them.
It was an era of prosperity, and everybody engaged in
business was making money. I now induced my mother
and father to remove from Napa to Vallejo, which made
me feel more contented.

My printing oftice had become so crowded that I felt
the necessity of seeking more commodious quarters. After
some thought on the subject I concluded to purchase
a lot and erect a brick building. This was in the early
part of 1870. I selected a lot on Sacramento Street,
between Georgia and Virginia streets, purchasing it from
Paul K. Hubbs, the man who had loaned me the money
to buy my partner's interest in the paper a few months

lircoUcclioiis (if (I Scivspap'TtUdn

Ix'fort'. I iikmIc ;in;mf4(iii(iils with (icniTal Frishic to
loan mo llu' moiu y lo creel llic hiiildiii^. Tlic little Ijaiik-
in^ eoiK-ern we had in town then did not have eapilal
enough to warrant making loans of this character. In
fact, I rememher once the manager called a meeting of
the directors to decide whether or not he should cash
a check for -l^lOOd. After engagiiig an architect and ohtain-
ing plans, I let the contract for the erection of the building.
When the work had progressed nearly to the point where
the first payment was to be made, I went to General
Frisbie's oilice three days ahead of the date of payment
to get the money. To my great dismay the general was
out of town and was not expected back for several days.
I had pride in meeting my bills on time and keeping to
the very letter of every contract made, and this was a
case where more than one man would be disappointed
by the failure to meet my obligations. The contractor
depended upon me, and the men employed depended
upon him for the money for their wages. In my distrac-
tion over the situation, I pictured in my mind loss of credit
and all sorts of financial and other troubles for myself
and others connected with the job. I said to myself that
I must get that money by Saturday night. With the forma-
tion of the resolution I hired a horse and buggy and
started on the trail of General Frisbie. At Napa I found
he had left there a few hours ahead of me on Friday
evening, bound for San Francisco. Saturday morning
found me in the city chasing around the banks and places
where I thought I might find him. At last, near noon time,
I found him at his club. I explained the situation and
obtained his check. I managed to get back to Vallcjo
with the money to make the payment to the contractor,
with scarcely a moment to spare for him to disburse it
among his workmen before quitting time, without any one
having knowledge of my anxieties or the narrow escape I
had from defaulting on the first payment on ni}- building.
— 1^2 —

The First Railroad to Tidewater

Profiting by experience, I made provision in ample time
for the remaining payments. I was proud of my success
in establishing the paper on a paying basis and housing it
in a home of its own. The building was of two stories.
The printing office was established on the upper floor, and
the lower floor I intended to rent, but as about all the
applications, for some time, were for saloon purposes, it
remained vacant until the postmaster of Vallejo arranged
with me to have it occupied by the postoffice.

A street car line operating over a track connecting the
north and south parts of Vallejo was established about
this time, which helped give something of a metropolitan
appearance to the town, but when the boom times reached
their limit and hard times replaced prosperity, the cars
and track disappeared and the place was without such
conveniences until another era of progress and improve-
ment in the business and growth of the city was expe-
rienced in later years.

The owners of the California Pacific Railroad were
financially interested in the growth of the city and they
freely co-operated with the citizens in matters intended
to promote its welfare and progress. The managers of the
company were energetic, progressive, and broad minded.
I do not recall a single instance of a clash on the part of
the citizens with the oflicials of the company. 1 might
relate a couple of instances of dealing with individuals,
illustrating the policy of the company, that obtained for
the corporation a position of popularity both in the minds
of the citizens of Vallejo and the country through which
their roads operated. While burning off weeds and grass
along the right of \yay, a gang of laborers let the fire get
away from them, destroying a lot of fencing and standing
grain. The railroad company, without question, paid the
owner the full value of the damage done. There were a
few hundred feet of an almost worthless rickety fence on
one side of the burnt field, running down to the railroad

— U3 —

Jxfcollrcliiiiis of (I X('iPs/)fij)/'iii)(in

Ir.icks. 'I'liis llic coinpiiiiy replaced, willioiil i((|ii<st. \silli
a new (i ve-l)()ai<l reiiee, ^iviiii^ as a reason loi- their action
that tile old fence was scoiclied. I'>\('ry one in the nei^h-
horliiiod soon knew ol this act of hheiahty on tlie part
ot" the coiporalion, and the olTicials wire complimented
freely, esj)ecially for the reason that the owner of the land
so fenced was a man of small means. 1 was present at
the settlement of another claim for damages by a farmer.
A train had struck and killed a hull. The owner had been
sent for as soon as the report of the accident reached the
railroad oltice. When asked what value he had placed on
the animal the farmer gave a figure. The railroad ofTi-
cial expressed some surprise that the amount was not
more, and promptly paid over to the farmer the amount,
plus a sum to fully cover his loss of time and expense of
coming to the city. This w^as done, too, in less than twenty-
four hours after the time notice of the accident had been
received. After the man departed I expressed the thought
that the company would probably be imposed upon when
it was known that such a policy was followed in settle-
ment of damage cases. The official replied that in some
instances this would be true, but, even so, it was cheaper
than employing lawyers and paying costs of suits, though
he found a great deal of honesty in humanity, especially
when it was encouraged by fair treatment. These inci-
dents illustrate the plan adopted by the corporation in
dealing with the public and will explain how it was pos-
sible for the company to freely secure from the city and
county authorities about everything asked for without
complaint or objection on the part of the people.

When the railroad was completed to Sacramento the
steamer New World was purchased to run in connection
with the trains from Yallejo to San Francisco. This was
about the fastest steamer ever plying upon the waters of
this section. She frequently made the run from Yallejo
to the city in one hour and twenty minutes. The railroad
— 1U —

The First Railroad to Tidewater

run to Sacramento was made in about an hour and fifty
minutes. Thereby the time of travel between San Fran-
cisco and the capital was reduced, and trains were oper-
ated so that people of one place could go to the other and
have time to transact considerable business and return
home the same day. The steamer New World had a his-
tory. She was built in New York early in the '50s, being
intended for a speedy steamer on the Hudson River. How-
ever, she was purchased and fitted out to be sent "around
the Horn" under her own steam for use on the Sacra-
mento, and was placed under the command of Captain
Ned Wakeman, a dare-devil in character and a superior
navigator by profession. Just before the time set for
sailing, the steamer was attached to satisfy some kind of
a judgment obtained in court, and a deputy sheriff was
placed on board. But such action was not sufTicient to
withhold Captain Wakeman from steaming out of New
York harbor when he was ready to leave. With flags
flying and the deputy sheriff helpless, the steamer left for
San Francisco, where she arrived in good time and was
put upon the run between that city and Sacramento.
Wakeman's high-handed act was a matter of widespread
interest for a while, but I do not remember that he was
ever punished or even arrested for the offense. When
he retired from active life in later years he settled in
Oakland, where he died, mourned by a large circle of
acquaintances and admirers. When the steamer was
purchased by the Vallejo Railroad Company, one of the
engineers who helped Wakeman run away with the vessel
from New York was still employed in the same capacity,
and from him I obtained the story of the daring act.

The railroad company attempted, in 1870, to bring out
from New York another steamer of even greater speed
than the New World. The vessel was named the D. C.
Haskins, but she got no further than Cape Hatteras, where
in a great storm she foundered. The othcers and crew

— U5 —

lirrollrrlions of a .WriDspaprrnuiii

were rcstucd. TIk' railroiid people, alter the loss, made
no niori- ;»llenii)l.s to hriii^ vessels "around the Horn," hut
houghl what steamers they needed from the supply here.

At the time when the State of California was growing
and exporting thousands of tons of wheat annually, the
fact Ilia I our farmers adhered to the use of sacks in
handlinj4 their grain, even shipping it in sacks to Kurope,
was the cause of much adverse comment on the part of
Eastern visitors, as heing a useless and extravagant waste.
Finally G. C. Pierson, a Chicago grain elevator man
and a capitalist, came to the state in 1867, determined
to introduce the elevator system of handling grain in bulk
here. The new railroad tidewater terminus at Vallejo
presented every advantage required for the business, and
he decided to erect his elevator on the waterfront of
Vallejo. He was a hard man to deal wdth and, being
unable to reach an understanding with the railroad com-
pany, was compelled to abandon the project. Thereupon
General Frisbie and Doctor Rice, president of the railroad
company, took up the enterprise and enlisted the co-opera-
tion of Isaac Friedlander of San Francisco, the grain king
of that period, and Charles Wheeler, an Eastern grain
operator, as well as some other capitalists of lesser note.
A company was organized and an elevator erected, the
building being completed in 1869. It was the pride and
hope of Vallejo, as the beginning of another great grain
mart of the world. It was a massively constructed build-
ing and towered above everything along the waterfront,
like a modern skyscraper in the business center of our
big cities. Pictures of the structure were as freely used
by the business men of Vallejo for advertising as was the
State Capitol building at Sacramento for like purpose.
When the plant was ready for business it was expected
that the farmer would load his wheat in bulk into box
cars or barges to be conveyed to the elevator, where it
was to be stored until sold and run into the ships' holds
— 1^6 —

The First Railroad to Tidewater

for transportation to Europe, but the farmer would not
co-operate with the elevator people. He preferred to
stand the loss of the sacks, adhering to the old method
of storing his wheat in the local warehouse of his section
until he was ready to sell, and all the zealous work of Mr.
Wheeler, manager of the elevator company, was without
results. Mr. Friedlander then used it as a warehouse,
storing in bulk the grain he purchased from the farmers.
He profited over the old warehouse methods of storage
to the extent of the value of the sacks. So the elevator
proved a great disappointment to the community as well
as to the owners. About three years after its completion,
as if unable to endure the disgrace and ridicule of the
miserable failure of its original purpose and the humilia-
tion of the attempt to put it to less important use, one fine
summer afternoon, or, to be exact, September 16, 1872, the
elevator began to totter on its foundation, then collapsed
and fell into a monstrous heap and buried its face thirty
feet deep in the mud of the estuary. The roar of the crash
reached almost every ear in town. Thus closed the first
and last attempt to introduce the grain elevator system
into California. If the promoters had put up small ele-
vators at receiving points along the railroad, the introduc-
tion of the system might have been a success.

It was in the beginning of the year 1869 that the
acquaintance 1 had made with your mother developed in
mutual attachment and marriage. A friend and I were
looking over some photographs and my attention was
attracted to the picture of a young lady. The sweet face
and kindlj' expression appealed to my sense of loveliness
so strongly that I expressed a desire to have her among
my acquaintances, for I thought she must be a person of
magnificent character and of most agreeable companion-
ship. My friend told me that it was the photograph of Mary
Louise Powell, daughter of Abraham Powell, one of the
foremost citizens of Vallejo, and that she was then a

— U7 —

l\r<ollc(li()iis of (I Xcinspdpf'rnuni

|)ii|)il ;il Mills Scniin.iiv .il i'cnici;!. Sliorlly .illir this I
w.is ^rciilly |)l(:isc(l lo Ix- inlrodiiccd to lici".

W'c were m;iiri<<l Dccciiihci' 1, 1.S70, in the pjirlor of
Mr. Powcirs nsidciuc l)y liic HcvcrciKJ \. H. Kliiik of
tlu' Prt'shylorijiii ciiiirch at about 9 o'clock in the morn-
ing, willi no one present except our parents, immediate
relatives, and Mrs. T. W. Mall, a dear friend of ours.

My newspaper business kept pace witli the general
advancement and growth of the city, and I had a fine lot
of young men working for me. Bert Worthington, who
has a national reputation as a general manager of railroad
business, was a newspaper carrier in our force, Sam
Irving, member of the board of regents of the state uni-
versity, was another one of our boys.* A. B. Nye, State
Controller of California, began his career in life in my
ofTice, starting as office boy, working up from station to
station until he became editor of the paper. It was during
these years of our relationship that I learned to appreciate
his superior ability in newspaper work, the soundness of
his judgment, purity of character, and high moral courage.

A gentleman came into the office one day early in 1871,
saying his son had just returned from the East, where he
had been attending college, and was now desirous of get-
ting employment in a newspaper office. Could I give the
young man a position with us? I was rather interested in
his statement of the matter and in the young man's ambi-
tion, and told him to send his boy around. This boy was
A. B. Nye. As was the custom with beginners, one of his
daily duties w^as to sweep the office floor. This work could
be done at his leisure after the general hours of work in
the composing room were over for the day. I was soon
attracted by the boy's insatiable desire to read everything
in print around the office. I never knew him to waste a
moment of opportunity to gratify this desire. I frequently
saw him with a paper or clipping from a paper in the

•Mr. Irving has since been made Maj'or of tlie City of Berkeley.

— 1^8 —

The First Railroad to Tidewater

hand with which he held the upper end of the broom
handle, reading and sweeping at the same time, and in
other ways I found reason to believe he possessed those
qualities which afterward developed and gave him the
reputation of being one of the best journalists the state
has ever produced. I resolved to give him every oppor-
tunity— in fact, to push him along when necessary. A few
months after he had been at work in the office I received
an anonymous contribution for publication in the shape
of a parody on a poem that had just been published by
the other paper in Vallejo. The authorship of the poem
was claimed by a man who was so conceited in the matter
of his poetical ability that he was near to being an object
of ridicule in town. As a rule we never published any
contribution from anonymous sources, but this parody
was so rich in its humor, so fitting to the time and circum-
stances, and generally meritorious, that I gave it a place
in the columns of our paper. It created something of a
sensation. I do not recall any publication of similar char-
acter that I ever made that attracted such general atten-
tion and was so highly complimented. There was great
demand to know who the author was, but of course I was
unable to say. Several months afterward — perhaps a
year — I met a former employee in Sacramento who asked
me if I had ever found out who wrote the parody. I
replied that I had not. After swearing me to secrecy, he
said Nye was the person. I was delighted with the infor-
mation, not that the knowledge of authorship of the
parody was of any particular value, but that I now knew
that I had among my employees a man of rare attainments
as a writer. I do not know whether Mr. Nye ever learned
that I had been made acquainted with the authorship of
the parody or not; I do not remember of ever discussing
the subject with him, but the knowledge I had gained
made me impatient for the chance to enroll young Nye on

HecoUeclious of <i Newspaperman

(he ('(lilorinl force of our pajxT. The oppoiliinity soon
came by llic sudden depiirlure of a reporter. I called Mr.
Nye into my ollice and ofTered him tlie place. He was
greatly j)leased with the idea hut expressed some ini.sgiv-
ings as to his ability to do the work expected of a reporter.
I gave him some general instructions as to his round of
travel in search of news items, and sent him out. At the
noon hour 1 saw him and he appeared discouraged, as he
had not been able to turn in more than about ten lines
of copy. I tried to encourage him by telling him his
•work would be satisfactory and easy when he became
acquainted with the people on the streets. That evening,
after all the hands had left the building, I found Nye in
my office waiting for me in a most dejected frame of mind.
He said he was sorry but he would have to take his dis-
charge, as it was impossible for him to become a reporter,
and as I had given his case or position in the composing
room to another man, there was nothing else for him to
do but to leave me. I said he did not have to go; that
he could have his case again. To my great pleasure he
returned to his work of setting type. Not long after this
some unusual accident occurred warranting the publica-
tion of the fullest details. I went to Nye and asked if he
would not undertake to cover some feature of the case,
explaining just what was wanted. He consented and ful-
filled his assignment like a veteran, and from that day
until he became editor of the paper, worked with the local
force, doing the work better and more reliably than any
one I had ever employed. As editor of the Chronicle, he
elevated the tone and standing of the paper, creating
an interest in his department never before known. He
remained some six or seven years until he became ambi-
tious to enter into business for himself. Then he purchased
the Dixon Tribune in 1877, and therefore was compelled
to resign his position on my paper. I deeply regretted

— 150 —

The First Railroad to Tidewater

the loss of his services but our relations of friendship
remained unchanged, and when in after years I entered
journalism in another field, Mr. Nye was associated with
me as a partner. However, the particulars of this venture
belong to another chapter.

151

CIIAPTKH X

EVENTS IN AND ABOUT VALIJCJO

Colonel John P. JocLson (uid Ilis Relation With the
City — Anthonij Chahot Bnilds Water WorLs Intro-
(hirlion of Air Brakes and Miller Platforms - .\ma-
fenr and Professional Dramatic Incidents — Planting
of Shad and Other Fish in Onr Waters — Hard Times
Strike Vallejo — The State Printing Office.

I THINK it was also in the year 1869 that I made the
acqiiainlance of Colonel John P. Jackson, about the time
he became the president of the California Pacific Raih'oad
Company, the corporation owning the railroad from Val-
lejo to Sacramento. As our office was executing nearly
all the printing of blanks and blank books used by the
company, I frequently caine in contact with the colonel,
and the acquaintance thus formed developed into a friend-
ship— I might more correctly say an attachment — that
continued with great regard, one for the other, until his
sudden and unexpected death nearly thirty years after.
The colonel was a very youthful appearing man when he
first came to the Coast. Not long after I had made his
acquaintance, in conversation where several were present
I remember he said he was forty years old about that
time. There w^as an expression of surprise by all, and no
one was more astonished than I, for I looked upon that
number of years as constituting old age.

Colonel Jackson loved newspaper work. He not only
gave me information which put me on the track of very
important news which enabled the Chronicle frequently
to "scoop" the San Francisco papers, but at times he

— 152 —

Events in and About Vallejo

himself would write articles and news items for publi-
cation. As there was no clash of interests between the
people and our railroad at that time, his motive in writing
was not to influence public opinion in railroad matters.
In fact, his contributions were devoted largely to the dis-
cussion of the business advantages and promising future
of the Pacific Coast, and particularly to its attractiveness
as a place in which to live. He was very enthusiastic on
the subject and never missed an opportunity to impress
upon strangers some of his thoughts of the beauties, the
attractions, and possibilities of the state. I recall a letter
addressed to one of his old partners in Cincinnati, in which
he said: "California, oh, glorious climate, six months in
the year, and not a fleck in the skies!" This letter was
probably written from Napa, where he passed all his leis-
ure hours. He purchased the famous Napa Soda Springs
property, finding great delight and enjoyment in sojourn-
ing there. The property had been in litigation for years
and the title was so clouded with legal cobwebs that
would-be purchasers were afraid to buy it. However, the
colonel undertook the task of unraveling the complica-
tions and finally succeeded in securing a clear title. As
our intimacy became closer and his interest in the
Chronicle increased, he made an offer to purchase a half
interest in my business. The proposition was exceedingly
pleasing to me, because to accept it would not only bring
me in closer relation to the man I most respected for his
brilliancy of mind and admired for his rectitude and
strength of character, but the money I would receive
would enable me to pay off my obligations. I was still
owing quite an amount on the newspaper building. The
trade was quickly consummated. The colonel was a
delightful public speaker and as such was very popular
in Vallejo. He was the orator at two Fourth of July celebra-
tions and made addresses on several other occasions of

— 153 —

Hi'CoUrrlions of a Newsjxiix'rnum

piihlic ;isscml)l;if^('. Oiii" |);n(ii('rsliip contimicd iiiidcr most
|)h>as:int riliilions lor scvtTal years iiiilil the period of
Iinrd times and depression in business slriiek the town.
Our newspaper business ceased to be profitable, and as
there was no j)rospect of satisfactory relniii to him on his
investment, 1 proposed that I deed the building to him
and he turn over his interest in the newspaper to ine.
Tliis suggestion was carried out and our partnership
ended, but not our friendship, which, if anything, grew
stronger as time advanced. He subsequently loaned me
considerable money to help nic over the financial diffi-
culties caused by the set-back the town had received.

October 1, 1871, was the date of a most important event
in my little home. My first child was born. It is perhaps
needless to say that I was particularly proud of the young-
ster, and in writing to the colonel, telling him of my great
fortune, I incidentally said I intended to name him "Jack-
son." I received a splendid letter from the colonel in
reply, in which he congratulated us and thanked me for
the evidence of my kind regard, but said I would soon
find out that naming the babies was a matter pretty much
outside of my province, or at least, when I had as much
experience as he had, I would not attempt to interfere
with the mother in such matters. He thought the name of
that baby would be Frank A., Jr., a selection he most
heartily approved. Well, that is how it happened; the
angelic mother said, "We shall name him Frank," and I
did not object.

The officials of the California Pacific Railroad Com-
pany were progressive people. They were the first to intro-
duce the air brakes and Miller platforms for passenger
cars on Californian roads. I had the pleasure of being
present at the first test of these new devices. It was in
the summer of 1871, June 2. A train equipped with the
new inventions was run out on the main line and the
operations of the air brake were demonstrated. Ot
— ?54 —

Events in and About Vallejo

course, the great improvement was manifest to all who
witnessed its workings, and the railroad company was
commended for its enterprise. The ability to stop a train
under full headway within little more than its length
seemed a marvelous thing. Under the old equipment of
hand brakes, with a brakeman to each car, as was the
practice, a train could not be brought to a full stop
inside of several times its length. The hand brakes were
operated by the brakemen, who were supposed to remain
constantly on the platforms of the cars and to work the
brakes upon signals from the locomotive whistle. One
blast was the signal to apply the brakes, and two whis-
tles to release them. The Miller platform was really a
change in coupling the train together. Before the inven-
tion was introduced the cars were coupled with big
links and pins, which gave quite a space between the
platforms, allowing a great deal of jerking and jolting
of the cars in starting and stopping, and which also was
the cause of many fatal accidents to people who
attempted to pass from one car to the other while the
trains were in motion. The new invention coupled the
cars so that the platforms were one against the other,
making the train as one solid mass and eliminating the
disagreeable shaking up so commonly experienced by
passengers under the old method. The passenger cars
used by the Vallejo road were superior in finish and
comfort to anything in use on the Coast. The efforts
of the management to please the traveling public were
fully appreciated.

This company, in 1871, began to reach out for other
roads, and announced its intention to extend its main
line east via Oroville and the Beckwith Pass and become
a transcontinental railroad. The Napa Valley railroad,
the Petaluma road, and the Stockton and Copperopolis
road were all purchased within a short time, and finally
the California Navigation Company, with all its steamers

— 155 —

liccollfclioiis of (I Scivsjxijx'rmdn

plying Itclwccii Sail !• raiicisio and Sac-iamciito and otiicr
inlci'ior- poiiils, was ahsoihcd. Our ollic-c had to do all
tlic printing lor llusc lines, as Hiey came under the jur-
isdiction of the (^tdilornia Pacific company. However,
we were not destined to enjoy the business for any great
length of time. The Central Pacilic company had com-
pU'ted its road over the Sierras and across the State of
Nevada, and made junction with the Union Pacific near
Ogden, and had also, under the name of the Western
Pacilic, completed the railroad from Sacramento to Oak-
land, and was looking with jealous eyes upon its com-
petitors who already had the best and shortest lines
where there was the greatest amount of local travel, and
was threatening to become an opponent to transcon-
tinental business. The owners of the Central Pacific did
the only thing possible to head off this formidable com-
petitor. They leased the entire system of the California
Pacific for a term of ninety-nine years, but before they
brought the owners of our road to terms they had begun
the work, showing they intended to practically parallel
the Vallejo and Sacramento route.

The political campaign of 1873 made it a season of
extreme activity for me. The addition of a large amount
of political printing to an office already crowded with
railroad work required close personal attention on my
part to keep things moving as they should. When the
rush was over nature compelled a rest. It was about
this time, or July 27. 1873, to be exact, that the second
addition to our family arrived. The nurse or doctor
could not restrain me from getting out of a sick-bed and
going to the room of the brave mother to show my J03'
and affection for her and have the satisfaction of hav-
ing the new-born son in my arms, if only for a moment.
After this event my mind was, for the time, diverted
from business cares, and my return to health quickly
followed. There >vas no question or trouble in the selec-
— 156 —

Events in and About Vallejo

tion of a name for the baby. I knew better, now, than
to suggest any name outside of the family, but I had
no desire to do so, so the infant naturally received his
grandfather Powell's given name of Abraham.

Very soon after Vallejo began to take on an air of
prosperity, in 1867, there had been talk of the necessity
for a water supply. As a rule, the water obtained from
wells within the limits of the older part of town was
unfit for household purposes. It was not only very hard
but very brackish. Nearly all the old residents had cis-
terns which they filled with rain-water in the winter,
and they depended upon that supply to last them
through the dry season for all household purposes.
While not intended for this purpose, when the cisterns
in the central part of town were constructed, these sup-
plies of rain-water served to prevent several disastrous
fires. Fortunately they were built so as to be convenient
for the fire engine to take suction, and were used on sev-
eral occasions to good advantage. In fact, the cistern
oAvned by E. J. Wilson and located near the corner of
Georgia and Sacramento streets, gave more water for
fire purposes during the years from 1867 to 1870 than
to the owner for his uses. Several water companies were
organized and various plans suggested with a view to
obtaining a water system for the city during the year
mentioned. Napa, fifteen miles north of Vallejo, was
at the time without a water supply other than what was
obtained from wells, and a company was organized by
citizens from both towns to bring water from Milliken
Canyon, about three miles northeast of Napa, where a
supply of the finest kind of water could be impounded
sufficient for both communities. This was the best
scheme of all that was presented, considering the quan-
tity and quality of the water and promise of return on
the investment, but nothing was accomplished toward
creating the system beyond the organization of the com-
pany. I never knew why the plan failed. ^j7

liccollrclions of <i S ('ivsj)(tj)cnu(iu

Aiiollici" coiiipimy, lliroii^li ils rcprcsciilMlivc, ;ij)j)c'are(l
in Viillcjo in llic i;irly ));irl ol' 1870 with the imiioiincc-
nuMil that il would iiilrodiicc a water supply for llic town
at onc(\ The agent purchased for a reservoir site a lot
that I happened to own which was on one of the high-
est elevalions in town, and he put a gang of men to work
excavaling. The lay of the ground was such that the
proposed reservoir would have had several feet greater
elevation, and could have heen constructed at consid-
erable less cost, if the company had acquired the lot
adjoining mine and made the excavation across the rear
portion of the two lots. This fact, coupled with the efforts
of the company to sell stock to the citizens of Vallejo,
and a very hazy explanation of the source of the water
to be supplied, caused people to believe that the com-
pany's activity in actual work was only a sham. Such
it turned out to be, and I found out that the only "capi-
talist" behind the scheme was the proprietor of the
defunct San Francisco mining paper, for whom 1 had
worked and was the only employee and creditor who
secured his dues when the paper failed, the details of
which incident are related in the earlier portion of these
memoirs. It is possible that my discovery saved some
of the Vallejo residents from making a bad investment.

There were schemes presented by others for bring-
ing water from Suscol Creek and from American Can-
yon, but before cither took on any aspect of promise
Anthony Chabot of Oakland, who had but recently put
in the water system for that city, quietly dropped into
town, and after surveying the situation announced that
he would install a system and have water in all parts
of town in less than twelve months. This was in the
early part of 1871. Following the necessary formalities
with the city authorities, Mr. Chabot placed a large num-
ber of men at work constructing the dam for what is
now known as Lake Chabot, and also laying pipe in the
— 158 —

Events in and About Vallejo

street. Another gang of men was employed in construct-
ing the large pipe for the main, from the dam to the dis-
tributing system of town. The length of the main line
was about three miles. Mr. Chabot was a superior man
in this line of work and he had no trouble in keeping his
promise as to the time of the completion of the work.
Probably no community was ever more pleased with the
realization of this long-deferred hope of a water supply
than was that of Vallejo. Without it, the future of the
place was seriously handicapped, and the danger from a
conflagration that would wipe out the town was a seri-
ous menace. Citizens who had no cisterns of rain-water
to draw from were subjected to no small expense for the
water they consumed in their households. They had to
buy it by the barrel and thought they were getting it
reasonably when competition brought the price down to
35 cents per barrel, which was equivalent to between
$7 and $8 per 1000 gallons. So the gratification of the
people upon being able to draw water from faucets in
their houses at a cost per 1000 gallons of but little more
than they had been pajdng per barrel, to say nothing
of the comfort of the feeling that they now had some
protection from fire, can be appreciated. It was a day
of joy when the water was turned into the system.
Mr. Chabot stocked the lake at once with Sacramento
River perch, and after the second year we had some sport
fishing there. Now comes the record of a most remark-
able experience, unfortunate and costly, both to Mr. Cha-
bot and to the citizens. He had been using riveted sheet
iron pipes in other water supply instalments with great
success, but he had overlooked the fact that the soil
between the dam and the town contained certain chemi-
cal elements most destructive to iron not properly pro-
tected— a feature he had not had to deal with in his
other installation. I think it was in the summer of the
third or fourth year after the installation that the chemi-

— 159 —

lircolh-clidiis <if <i S civsjxtjx'nndu

cals (tf llic soil showed llicif power over llic lliiii iioii
of (he pipe liiu' l)y c;msiii/4 iiiimcroiis hir^c Icjiks alon^
llic line rroin (lie (l;mi to lowii. Some were f4(ystr or
roiinl.iiii-likc ill ronii. Tlic \v;ilcr, rclciiscd irom llic pipe
forced its \\;iy ii|) lliroiif*li the carlh, spouliiii^ several feel
into the air. II was soon apparent that the pipe line was
useless foi- the purpose for which it had been con-
sliucled. and for some reason, which I can not now-
recall, it was impossible to shut of!' the water in the reser-
voir from the pipe line, so there was nothing to do but
to let the contents run away through the breaches in
the main Hnc. In a few weeks there was not a drop of
water behind the dam and the people of Vallejo had
to return to their cisterns and to buying water by the
barrel. Before the winter rains came Mr. Chabot replaced
the thin iron pipe with heavy cast iron pipe. During the
summer the mud at the bottom of the lake was fissured
by contractions in drying out, and it was supposed that
it was in these fissures that nature in some way pre-
served some of the perch or their eggs, for the next year
after the lake was filled again the percli were as plen-
tiful as ever. There is another chapter to the history of
Vallejo water supply. It is quite a story how^ the peo-
ple, after Mr. Chabot's death, became dissatisfied in deal-
ings with his successors, voted bonds and installed a
system of their own, and prohibited the old company
doing business in competition with the municipal plant,
but all that occurred after my departure from Vallejo,
and was a matter in which I was in no way connected.

In looking over the files of the Chronicle for the first
years of its existence, I was reminded of my connec-
tion with the Vallejo Dramatic Association and my expe-
rience in amateur theatricals before I went to Vallejo.
I do not recount these matters with the thought that
they have any importance or any interest, beyond the
humor involved. 1 have already mentioned the disas-

— 160 —

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Events in and About Vallejo

trous attempt I made to recite a poem at a Sunday school
exhibition, and I am sorry to say that my second attempt
to appear in pubhc was another faihire, but in an alto-
gether different wa5\ I was about eleven years of age.
On this occasion the Napa Dramatic Association was giv-
ing an entertainment where there was to be a giant in
the cast who, at a certain time in the play, was to be
disjointed. I was selected for the "upper joint" of the
giant — that is, I was to sit astride the shoulders of a large
man, who not only furnished the larger part of the giant
but also the voice and speaking part. Of course, we were
draped with a cloth that completely covered my head and
reached to the floor. I could see nothing, but I had been
instructed that when the man on whose shoulders I was
riding should stoop I was to jump down and run off the
stage with the drapery. It appears that I was too keen
for the cue. Before the time intended, I mistook a slight
stoop or forward movement for the signal for me to
jump, and was in the act of doing so when he suddenly
straightened up in such a way that I was thrown vio-
lently to the stage, falling on my head. It was thought
I must be injured, for there was a rush from the wings
and from the audience (my father among the latter) to
pick me up. I was only stunned, but the play was seri-
ously interfered with.

Two or three years after this event 1 had another expe-
rience. In those days the young ladies of the town did
not help the young men in their dramatic efforts, so they
had either to employ professional actresses, or them-
selves personate the female characters in plays they pre-
sented. The association, on the occasion I refer to, was to
give a play in which there was to be a young girl with only
a word or two of speech. I was asked to take the part,
and some of the big sisters of the members of the club
undertook to dress me for it, and, as I remember,
they had more fun in doing it than I got out of the

— 161 —

UcroUcctians of (i S <'irsp(tprrii\(tn

whole an'jiir. Iliis \\;is in (lie (l;iys ot lioop-skirts. The
one llu'v put on me was loo long in front, being in
I he \v;iy <>' niy IVet wlicn I walked, and too liig Ixliind,
being a sei-joiis obstacle in the way of silting down. The
girls tried to show me how to circumvent these trou-
bles, but it was of no use. The time was too short to
acquire the knack, or I was too clumsy. 1 had to walk
about a block in this rig to the theater. I think I could
have walked on the top of a picket fence with as much
confidence from tripping and falling. When I reached
the space behind the scenes where the "star actors" were,
my presence caused a commotion, and my appearance on
the stage even more. I have an indistinct recollection of
the disturbance caused by my awkwardness, and of my
shedding the rig and taking it back to the house on my
arm. thoroughly resolved never to allow myself to be
used in that way again.

In after years, even after moving to Vallejo, I took
part in comedies, never essaying any sentimental charac-
ter but once, and that was the last time I ever participated
in any dramatic entertainment. It was one of the rules
of the club that every member should accept any part
or character he might be given in making up the cast
for a performance. Whether by design, misjudgment, or
accident — I never knew — I was assigned a sentimental
part in a play that was to be made quite an event. I
remonstrated, but it was of no use. A couple of beautiful
girls, sisters and actresses, were engaged for the female
parts. I was to impersonate an ardent lover. In the first
scene of my appearance I was to make love to one of
these girls, twine my arms around her waist and gently
lead her off the stage. I did not like the job. and the boys
all knew it and they all assembled in the wings, gi^^ng me
what they called encouragement. Unknown to me, your
Uncle Harry had brought his sister home from the semi-
nary at Benicia that she should see the performance.
— 162 —

Events in and About Vallejo

Now this was at a time when I had just discovered that
all my happiness in the world lay in making this sister
think that I was the only young man worthy of her con-
sideration. It was the thought of this that increased my
objection to the part for which I had been cast. I had
been able to withstand all the guying from the wings, but
it was in that part of the scene where my arm stole
around the waist of the girl that my eye fell upon my
sweetheart down in the audience. I was paralyzed. I
never knew how I finished the scene. My only thought
was to square myself, and I did, without much trouble.
However, I resigned from the club.

While on the subject of theatricals I may as well
relate the details of an occurrence in Vallejo that was the
cause of great amusement in the theatrical world at the
time. California has furnished men and women who
have made world-wide reputations as actors and singers,
as well as given young people from other sections the
opportunity to develop here histrionic ability that made
them famous. Lawrence Barrett and John McCullough
were two young men who came into our state in the '60s
and found employment on the stage of the principal
theater of San Francisco. They were not strangers to the
stage when they came here, but had not yet impressed
the theater-going public with the belief that they pos-
sessed any particular merit. In a few months, though,
they became immensely popular. The people of San
Francisco in many ways gave evidence of their appre-
ciation of the extraordinary merit of these men, and
through their patronage they succeeded in winning a
place among the names of the greatest actors of that day.
The people seemed never to tire of them, so they remained
in San Francisco, appearing regularly on the stage of the
principal theater in a stock company with but few and
short omissions for several years. The omissions were
largely caused by the stock company being laid off tem-

— 163 —

Hrcollcrlions of a Nrinspa/jfrnidii

por.iiily loi- ;in operatic season, or in llic picscnljilion
of some sjx'eial pl;iy. Tlie stock coiiipimy would lake
advantage of the lay-oils to give plays in other cities of
the Coast. On one of these occasions the c^jnipany con-
chided to give the people of Vallejo a treat in presenting
Shakespeare's play, "Othello," at Eureka Hall. This was
the only place in Vallejo at that time with anything like
a stage, and while there was some pretense of arrange-
ment for scenery, it was all too simple for any theatrical
efTect, In fact, the simplicity of the stage contrasted
strangely with the great actors appearing in the tragic
roles of the famous characters of "Othello." What proh-
ahly added to the absurdity of the situation was the fact
that very few people had been attracted to the hall, so
that when the candle footlight had been lighted and the
curtain "went up," not more than fifty or sixty people
were seated on the benches as the audience. The major-
ity of those there probably had never witnessed a tragedy
— at least under such conditions. The actors were unable
to impress them with the seriousness of their parts or
the tragic features of the play. From the beginning, the
audience giggled over the hea^^ parts, and finally laughed
outright, as if witnessing a comedy, in the best scenes of
McCullough and Barrett. The actors, instead of being
annoyed, were so amused that they^ were unable to con-
ceal their emotions, and soon ceased to try. All hands
on the stage were as full of laughter as the audience.
Even McCullough, as Othello, was convulsed with laugh-
ter while in the act of killing his faithful wife, Desdcmona.
As may well be imagined, what was intended as a pre-
sentment of a tragedy was unexpectedly converted into
a farce, with McCullough and Barrett as the leading
comedians, and under these conditions the play was car-
ried through to the end. Probably "Othello" was never
played before or since under similar circumstances. I
could not remain to see the end of the burlesque, nor

Events in and About Vallejo

did I detail a reporter to interview the popular actors as
to impressions made on them by the incident. For the
reputation of our town, I thought the less said about the
affair the better it would be. McGullough and Barrett,
while they must have suffered some pecuniary loss by
reason of the slim attendance, seemed satisfied and
pleased with the experience, and used to speak of it
among their friends, in after years, as a great joke.

I was much interested in the work of the fishermen
who plied their vocation in the waters of San Pablo Bay,
Carquinez Strait, and other vicinities of Vallejo, and I
was especially interested in the efforts of B. B. Redding
and other prominent citizens of our state to transplant
several varieties of food fishes of the Atlantic Coast
waters to the Pacific. They began the work early in the
year 1871. The completion of the railroad across the
continent made the idea practical. The Californians
engaged the co-operation of Seth Green of New York,
a man famous for his practical knowledge of the value
and habits of the fishes of our country. Mr. Green had
demonstrated the possibility of transplanting fish from
one locality to another, as well as the culture of fish. He
entered into the plan of the Californians with great zest
and gave his personal attention to the first shipment of
young fish across the continent, which consisted of 15,000
baby shad. The little fish came in specially designed
cans and were immediately taken to Tehama and put
into the Sacramento River at that point, on June 27,
1871. One of the papers of that day, in describing the
event, said that the little fish were about the size of "a
wiggle and a half." In April of 1873, another lot of
75,000 little shad was placed in the Sacramento River;
in June following, 35,000 more, and a few years later an
additional lot of 150,000 was planted, all being put in
the Sacramento River. A law was passed protecting the
fish until December 1, 1877. The State Sportsmen's Asso-

— 165 —

Hccollrclioiis of (I \('u>sj)(ij)('nn(in

fi;ili(>M, liowcNci', ollVrcd ;i i-cw.-ud lor- the (irsi ninliire
shad caught in oiii- waters, hut il was not until the spring
of 1871 Dial any one was ahic to hiy claim to the prize.
One hcautiliil niorninf» in the year last mentioned, while
taking an early morning walk before breakfast, I strayed
down on the Main Street wharf to see the fishermen's
catches, as was a common practice. On this occasion one
of the fishermen, "Baltimore Harry," announced that he
had been waiting for me as he had a strange fish for my
inspection. He then presented me with a fish weighing
about a pound and a half or two pounds, the like of
which I had never seen, but from what I had read and
heard I immediately concluded it was the first shad
caught on the Pacific Coast. The fisherman said he had
never seen a fish like it before and asked me if I could
name it. He said there appeared to be great quantities of
them but they were so small that they escaped through
the meshes of his salmon net. I told Harry I thought
I could classify his catch but preferred not to just then,
and further said that if he would say nothing about this
fish, when he caught another I would tell him how he
could get $50 for it. The fish he gave me I carefully
wrapped and carried to Mrs. Powell, your grandmother,
to whom I presented it, knowing her acquaintance with
the fish and her fondness for it. She immediately pro-
nounced it to be a shad. She cooked the fish and we
had it for dinner that night. We thought then, and I
have never had occasion to change that opinion, that it
was the first shad caught and eaten in California. About
two weeks later "Baltimore Harry" showed me another
shad he had caught, about the same size of the one given
me. I gave him a letter of introduction to Ramon
Wilson, president of the State Sportsmen's Association,
and instructed him to give the shad to Mr. Wilson, which
he did and received the $50 prize. This fish was a matter
of great interest. The San Francisco and other newspapers

— 166 —

Events in and About Vallejo

commented freely upon this evidence of the success of the
scheme to introduce this valuable food fish in our
waters. The association had a big dinner at which the
lone shad was the great feature. I had intended to tease
my friends about their claim to having had the first shad,
but so much importance and wide publicity had been
given the event that 1 regarded it too serious a matter
to joke about. I regretted my course and maintained a
discreet silence.

A very strange fact developed with the introduction of
the shad, as apparently the waters, temperature, or some
other conditions caused a remarkable change in the
habits of the fish, which added enormously to the value
as a food supply. In the Eastern waters, their native
habitat, they only run into the rivers where they can
be caught for a few weeks each year. They make their
first appearance in March in the rivers of the lower
Atlantic Coast, remaining from four to six weeks, then
disappear, to run in some stream further north, and so
on until all the rivers flowing into the Atlantic have been
visited. But here in our waters the shad remain the
year round. I never heard a theory advanced for this
change in habit, but the temperature of the Eastern rivers
undergoes quite a change with the diff'erence in seasons.
It is well known that the change in temperature of the
waters inhabited by the shad here is slight, and is prob-
ably about that of the rivers of the East when the fish
seek them. Our waters doubtless give them an even
temperature naturally required by the fish.

The catfish was another variety that was transplanted
about the same period as the shad. The "cats" seemed
to find the changed conditions verj'^ agreeable for propa-
gation, for they soon became most abundant in the
sloughs and stagnant branches of the Sacramento and
San Joaquin rivers. Fresh water eels were also planted
about the same period, but they did not prosper in our

— 167 —

liccollccfions of a Srinspajjcrnuin

wjilcfs. I never lie;ii-(l oT ;iny hciiif^ l;ik(ii oilier than two,
caui^lil in llie Sacramento river ahonl three years after
planliiif^. One was a Tool and a half lon{4 and the other
three feet in length. These were in all proi)ahility some
of the original planting, for it is now known that eels
go out into mid-ocean to drop their eggs, and that the
little eels hatched from the eggs do not reach or enter
the fresh water stream flowing into the ocean until about
a year after their birth. They inhabit the fresh water
and tide waters of estuaries for several years thereafter
until they reach a condition of maturity, then they in
turn go out into the ocean, as stated. After having depos-
ited the eggs, which seems to be the crowning and final
act of their existence, the female and the male who
assists die. It was undoubtedly a fortunate matter that
efforts to introduce this snaky looking fish into the Pacific
waters was a failure, for it has been found that eels are
very destructive to the spawn of valuable food fishes in
Atlantic Coast streams.

Striped bass was another valuable food fish that was
successfully introduced here after the shad. Black bass
came still later and has prospered bej'ond any expecta-
tion. Both of these varieties, beyond their value for food
purposes, were desirable to sportsmen on account of their
gamcy qualities.

Carp, common in so many parts of the interior waters,
is also a transplanted species, being brought by private
enterprise by a German who lived in Sonoma Valley in
the early '70s. He had a fine place and thought that a
fish pond in his grounds, stocked with German carp,
would be a source of satisfaction to himself and a matter
of interest to his friends. The carp were extensively
advertised by the newspapers of the state as a curiosity,
and the Sonoma place was visited by many people for the
sole purpose of seeing the new fish. All went well for
a few seasons when one wet winter a flood swept through

— 168 —

Events in and About Vallejo

the fish pond, carrying the carp away into the stream,
Sonoma Creek, which, after the course of a few miles,
terminates in San Pablo Bay. Carp seem to be remark-
ably prolific in reproduction of their kind, for in a very
few years they were to be found almost everywhere in
the quiet waters of the interior of the state. In fact they
soon became a nuisance and almost a pest in some places,
especially in waters used for domestic supply. The carp,
being a scavenger of the fish family, goes rooting around
the bottoins and mud of the margins, keeping the water
in a constant state of disturbance. Great has been the
abuse hurled at the man who was responsible for the
carp being here.

While the waters of our bays are favorable to the
growth of oysters, they do not for some reason propagate
here, and the only oysters taken from these waters are
those planted as "spats" and allowed about three years'
growth. Neither were any clams to be found on the
shores of San Francisco and adjacent bays until the fall
of 1875, when somebody found that the clam, now so
common in our markets, had made its appearance on the
tide flats of San Pablo Bay. The discovery created some
little excitement among the lovers of this variety of
Mollusca. Parties came from a distance to "dig for
clams." In the course of the next five years the clams
were abundant on all the flats of the bay shore. It is
believed that the sudden appearance of the clams was
due to the oyster beds that had been made in San Fran-
cisco and San Pablo bays. The "seed" had been inad-
vertently brought here with the "spats" or young oysters.
However they came, the clams were a most valuable
contribution to the natural food products of the state.

While the waters were receiving additional inhabitants
of new varieties, one kind of food fish, sturgeon, which
at one time existed in great numbers, began to disappear.
Forty years ago a person traveling on the bay could see

— 169 —

KrroUrrtions of (i Newspaperman

sturgeon jumping out ol llic water in almost every direc-
tion. While I was livini* in Vallejo, there were several
instances ol sturgeon jumping out of the water and land-
ing in the row boat of the workingmcn while passing to
and fro hclween Vallejo and the Navy Yard. The sudden
addition of huge. Happing fishes, weighing a hundred
pounds or more, in a boat already well filled was no
laughing matter. In those days this fish was so common
that Chinamen and the poorest classes of people were the
only consumers of the meat. Now it is so scarce that it is
very rare in the markets and is considered a delicacy.

The destruction of the grain elevator ended the hope
of the community for the introduction of the new method
of handling grain, and of Vallejo becoming the business
grain center of the state. In our anticipation we had
pictured a number of giant grain elevators on our
water front, many more docks and warehouses, and a
harbor filled with shipping, with the great increase of
population that would follow such improvements and
business enterprises. Our expectations of future great-
ness in this direction were seriously shattered when the
big grain elevator building fell in a mass of ruins.

However, more serious damage to that great future
we all had predicted for Vallejo happened when control
of the railroads leading out of the city passed from the
California Pacific Company to the Central Pacific. The
announcement of the change was a sad and hard blow to
Vallejo. Everybody felt that the destinies of the place
were now in the hands of railroad men who had no par-
ticular interest in the growth or welfare of the commu-
nity. As was expected, the repair shops were practically
closed and the number of other employees at the Vallejo
terminus was materially reduced. The depressing effect
of the unfortunate change was quickly manifest in the
reduction of property values and the suspension of real
estate transactions. All hope of Vallejo becoming the

— no —

Events in and About Vallejo

terminus of another great transcontinental railroad sys-
tem was dispelled.

Following the change in the control of the railroad
came another misfortune to the business interests of the
community, which was like heaping more fuel on the
fire to make the work of destruction complete. The Sec-
retary of the N*avy ordered the discharge of about half of
the force of workingmen employed in the navy yard. It
can be well imagined how this combination of circum-
stances affected the reputation of Vallejo as a city of
great expectations.

The loss of employment drove many resident working-
men and mechanics out of the city in search of work else-
where. There was the loss of the floating population as
well as of some business firms. In all, Vallejo lost a
large percentage ot population and about all its prestige.
There was an abundance of real estate for sale but practi-
cally no buyers. Those who remained in business suffered
from the conditions, but they were largely men finan-
cially strong and better able to weather the storm.

Notwithstanding the combination of misfortune, some
of us retained our optimistic views of the future for the
place. It seemed to us that the natural advantages exist-
ing at Vallejo, with its extraordinary facilities as a ship-
ping point, would sooner or later be recognized by
manufacturing and business interests, and that it was
only a question of time when the city would again be
prospering and growing in population and wealth. Some
of us who felt this way, having more courage than good
judgment, bought property that was thrown on the mar-
ket at depression prices. In the early period of the
depression (1873) I purchased the two-story brick build-
ing on the south side of Georgia Street between Santa
Clara and Sacramento, used in later years as a meeting
place for fraternal organizations. I bought it subject
to a mortgage, paying the owner, I think, about $4000 for

— 171 —

Hecollcrtions of a \rii)sj)(ij)rriii(ui

his ((iiiily. Al llic lime the lower flcjor \v;is occupied by
two stores, and llic upper lloor by odices, all filled with
tenants. The monthly rental collected from the huildinj^
was approximately ^'M)(), and I was calculating upon this
income to pay the interest and monthly instalment upon
the mortf^age. Here is where I showed more courage
than good judgment, for I had no revenue from other
sources with which to meet these payments in case I
should fail to receive the rentals of the building. A fail-
ure in rental receipts is just what happened. Within
sixty days from the date of my deed there was not a
single tenant left in the building and it looked as if I
must lose the property. I was in distress. While 1 needed
the money invested in the building, I worried more over
the mortification of the failure and exhibition of poor
judgment, in attempting to buy property in such a condi-
tion of business affairs under such poor financial circum-
stances. 1 had to do something, and do it quickly, to
"save my face." I talked the matter over wdth your dear
mother, who was ever ready to share with me the trials
and tribulations of my business affairs. Her courage and
excellent judgment were my refuge on many occasions.
In the matter of this building we decided to have the
upper story fitted up at slight expense for living apart-
ments, and to move the newspaper office into the first
story. The money we were paying for house rent, and to
Colonel Jackson for office rent, was more than sufficient
to pay the interest on the new purchase. I presented the
case to Colonel Jackson, who told me not to hesitate
making the change on his account, and in his big-hearted
way insisted upon my doing that which was best for my
interest.

We made the change and lived there very pleasantly
for some four or five years. It was in our home in this
building. May 3, 1878, that our third boy was born, who
was called Ed at once, being given my father's name. I
— 172 —

Events in and About Vallejo

well remember the day — it was a most charming one —
and it is difficult to express the delight I felt that another
grand boy had been added to our family group, as I
was proud of my family, and I had good reason to be.
One feature of our residence in this building became a
source of unpleasantness and irritation. I was so con-
veniently located and some people were so inconsiderate
of my time for rest that I was called out at all hours of the
night to answer business calls. This was especially true
in election times. While living there I had about the
most serious spell of illness ever experienced, from over-
taxing my strength and capacity for work. It was not
long after we had moved to this place when Abe, then
scarcely two years old, was seized with illness that threat-
ened to be fatal. The hours of anxiety we passed while
watching over and caring for him severely taxed the
strength of his mother. My anxiety was doubled when I
found how her cares were telling upon her. The most
critical period of the case was now reached when we had
to hold him in our arms, so as to give him the quickest
attention in case of occurrence of convulsions. The doc-
tor had instructed us what to do, and to carry out his
instructions it was necessary to keep a quantity of water
hot. The kitchen was the only place where that could be
done, so I requested our Chinese cook to keep up the
fire during the night. I held Abe in my arms a good part
of the night, insisting on his mother lying down during
my vigil. The crisis passed between 2 and 3 o'clock in
the morning. The change in condition for the better was
so marked that I was able to lay him down in peaceful
slumber. I started to leave the room to tell the China-
man he could allow the fire to die when, to my astonish-
ment, there he lay fast asleep, curled up on the mat in
front of our bedroom door. He had understood Abe's
critical condition and the necessity of prompt action in
case of convulsion, and he had remained in front of our

— 173 —

lii'iolhulions of <t Srinsjxtpcnndu

door .'ill ni^liI, rcaily to .inswcr my call in the least pos-
sible lime. Wlicii 1 nwnkciicd iiitii lie \v;is ([iiitc chagrined
thai he had ralien asleep hiil delighted that the patient
was so much improved. It is p(;rhaps needless to say lliat
tills Chinaman remained as help in our home for several
years until he entered the laundry business. Upon the
advice of our physician, we moved our residence to a
very pleasant dwelling in the residential section of town.
The building I finally got rid of by deeding it to the
mortgagor in consideration of the return to me of my
note. Of course, I sacrificed the amount I paid for the
equity, but I was pleased to get out of the unfortunate
investment so easily.

About the time I made the purchase of the building,
E. J. Wilson, one of the prominent real estate owners of
the city and a friend of mine, who felt much as I did
about the future of Vallejo, came to me and said that
he had a chance to buy a tract of several hundred lots
on the eastern edge of town at a very small figure, and
wanted me to join him and make the purchase. When
I explained that I had no cash he said that he would put
up the money and take my note for $3000, which was
my share of the cash necessary. The history' of the value
of the lots subsequent to the purchase was not unlike
the values of everything else in the real estate line. I
had a number of business transactions with Mr. Wilson,
covering quite a long period of time, without settlement,
so we got together one day and, after some hours of
w^ork, had adjusted about everything, when I noticed
he had made no mention of the purchase of lots and m^'
note. I called his attention to the omission and he
responded by going to his safe, extracting the note, and
tearing it up, with a comment in substance that, as the
lots were not w^orth anything now, the note should have
no value, and especially, as he had advised me to enter
into the speculation, he did not want me to be a loser by

— nit —

Events in and About Vallejo

the transaction. Mr. Wilson and I remained cordial
friends until his death some years ago. He was a warm-
hearted man and there are many people who can testify
to his kind acts. He was very secretive in his charities
as well as in his business affairs.

It was some time in the year 1873, or possibly early in
the following year, that I conceived the idea of con-
structing a job press for a special line of work, such as
long runs that had to be executed on a narrow margin
of profit. In furtherance of my plan I made a working
model of the press I wanted. It was complete in every
detail, less than twelve inches long, and not more than
six inches high and five inches wide. I worked the greater
part of the time on it at home at nights after the children
were put to bed. I did not get a press made from the
model on account of the cost, as there was not business
enough in sight to warrant the outlay. At the time I
constructed the model there was no press made like it, or,
at least, I never heard of one. Thirty-five years after-
ward, while visiting a department of the United States
treasury where the carmine-colored seals are printed on
government currency, I was greatly surprised and pleased
to find a number of presses patterned exactly after my
model. I could not find a detail that was not covered in
the model I had made. I dearly loved to work with
tools and to be making something, but as I grew older it
seemed as if there was a growing demand upon my time
which prevented the gratification of my desire.

Even before I was old enough to vote, I became greatly
interested in political matters. I could not keep away
from the polling places on election day. While, owing
to my youth, I could not participate in the discussions
that arose and were common to such places, I loved to
hear the talk, for I entertained a live interest in the suc-
cess of the Republican, or Union side as we called it then.
On one occasion, when only eighteen, I was very proud

— 175 —

Ixfcollfclions of (I i\'('H>sj)(ipri/ii(iii

to he cliosci) MS clerk of ;i primary clcc-lioii in Napa. Thai
sccnu'd lo iiu' lo he llu' Iransilioii point Iroiii lioyhood to
manhood. I wns a constant attendant of county conven-
tions, but it was not until 18G1) that I first attended a state
convention. John Howell, a former newspaper publisher
from Sonoma County, was a candidate for State Printer.
He asked inc to go to the Republican state convention at
Sacramento and assist him to secure the nomination. At
that time the state had no printing office and it was the
practice, as provided by law% to elect a man, designated
as State Printer, who was supposed to do the printing
required by the state in his own office. Therefore, only
persons who had printing offices w^ere regarded as eligible
for the position. Of course it was impracticable and
impossible for any one country printing office to execute
all the printing required, and it was the custom for sev-
eral proprietors to combine and support a certain one of
their number for the position of State Printer. Whoever
was elected divided up the business with his associates.
It was a very unbusinesslike and costly way of doing
things. As might be expected, the custom finally led to
charges of wrongdoing, when the Legislature provided a
printing office of its own and required the election, or
appointment, of a man to run it. When I reached Sacra-
mento a day or two prior to the assembling of the con-
vention, I found, to my surprise, that Mr. Howell expected
to be nominated without making combinations with other
printers. I looked over the field to find out who were can-
didates, what strength they possessed, and what chances
my friend had, and I found only one person who had
made any organized effort for the nomination who was
formidable. This was a well-known publisher from one
of the mountain towns. The Republican party was then
beginning to feel the demoralizing influence of bitter fac-
tional feeling arising from the railroad company's attempt
to control the politics of the state. Anthony & Morrill,

— 176 —

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—1 tn

I- o,z

Events in and About Vallejo

publishers of the Sacramento Union, were the leaders of
the anti-railroad faction. In my investigation I found
that this formidable opponent, while receiving the sup-
port of Anthony & Morrill, had combined with some
publishers supporting the railroad faction. One particu-
larly interesting feature of this combination was that the
railroad organ, the paper established to kill the Union if
possible, was a member. 1 was now satisfied that my
friend Howell, with a little good judgment and care, could
win the fight. I laid the situation before him, showing
that, if he would only consent to join hands with the
other lesser candidates, then give out the information I
had obtained which would destroy the opposition combi-
nation, he could get the nomination with little effort. I
spent a very great part of my time in winning Mr. Howell
over to my view of the case. It was not until the next day
that I secured his consent to accept a third member for
his combination.

Finally I succeeded in getting his agreement to the
acceptance of McClatchy of the Sacramento Bee, Gagan
of the Oakland News, and another publisher whose name
I do not recall. There was but little time left before the
meeting of the convention. While others of our combine
were working up votes for Howell, I hunted up Mr. Mor-
rill of the Union for the purpose of playing the trump
card in the game. In my youthful enthusiasm I was sure
that the publisher of the Union, as soon as he heard my
story, would repudiate our opponent and give us his
all-powerful support. He listened patiently to my state-
ment. When I was through with showing him how he
was indirectly working to give financial aid to a paper
started by railroad interests with the avowed purpose of
displacing his paper, he replied that all I said might be
true, but he had given So-and-so his promise to support
him for the nomination, and he was going to do it, as
it was too late now to investigate the matter. Then he

— 177 —

Recollcclions of a Nrwspaprrtnnn

added, with great velieinence, "So-and-so will be iioini-
nated for State Printer and will l)e eleeted, and if what
you say shall turn out to he the facts, then 1 will have his
office and accounts experted so that the business of State
Printer will nol be worth anything." This sounds very
mild when I recall the language actually used in making
this declaration and threat.

It is hardly necessary for me to say that I was badly
disappointed. Wc made a lively canvass for Howell, and
just before the convention met in the session that would
select the candidate for State Printer we concluded that
we had just a bare majority of the vote. At this moment
I was approached by the chairman of a county delegation
having about sixteen votes, which had been promised to
Howell, saying that, unless the latter took some publisher
he mentioned into our combination, he would go into
the other combine and the delegation would follow him
with their votes. Howell, as I expected, flatly refused to
consider the proposition, saying he had enough votes.
There was no time left to argue the matter with him, so
we had to let the delegation of sixteen votes go. The hot
contest over, this nomination created great interest in
the outcome, not only among the delegation but on the
part of the spectators. The vote was so close while the
roll call was being made, no one could tell how^ it had
resulted until the finals were announced by the clerk.
Our opponent won only by a bare majority. The sixteen
votes lost at the last moment killed our chances of win-
ning the nomination. It was my first attempt at "smashing
the slate" of a political convention, and although the
effort failed I certainly enjoyed the experience, and I do
not think I missed any of the state conventions of the
Republican party held during the following twenty j^ears.

As Mr. Morrill had foretold, our opponent was elected
and, as I had warned him, the partnership developed;
and as Mr. Morrill had threatened, the work of the new

— 178 —

Events in and About Vallejo

State Printer was experted so fiercely that no profit from
the work of the state accrued to the combination, either
to principal or any member thereof. A claim of several
thousand dollars for alleged unpaid services due the
State Printer was before several sessions of the Legisla-
ture, only to be rejected. Many years after, the widow
succeeded in getting an appropriation from the state in
satisfaction of part of the claim, if not all. It had been
the custom, up to the time of the election of State Printer,
to charge the state for its printing "all the traffic would
bear." There was but little competition in those days
and no one complained. Everybody seemed to take it
for granted that a printer had a right to charge all he
could collect for his work. Mr. Morrill, through his expert,
prevented further enjoyment of the state's business on
such a basis, but how close the expert pared down the
profits on the state work 1 am not prepared to say. It
was the contention of the Union and the expert that the
State Printer was being allowed a commercial profit on
all work turned out by him. On the other hand, the State
Printer complained that he was being deprived of any
profit by the way his bills were cut down. However, the
controversy brought the ugly and unbusiness-like method
of doing the state printing before the public eye in such
a way as to cause a reform in the system, and the state
supplied its own office with complete equipment for doing
the work.

During the boom period I had many opportunities to sell
out my newspaper business. I was off'ered nearly $20,000
for the plant by Harry Mighels, a well-known publisher
of Nevada, and as this sum was considerably more than
double what it had cost me, the profit of such a transac-
tion was something of a temptation. But being married
and "settled down," contented with my business pros-
pects, and most happy in my home life, I could not see
how, even with the increased capital, I could improve

— 179 —

Ixt'collrclioiis of <i Srivspiiprrnidii

my ootxlilion in ;i hiisincss \v;iy of ;i<l(i lo llic comforts
or pleasures of our lionjc I rcjocled all offers as they
came, but the lad thai other newspapermen were
attracted by my newspaper and wanted to purchase it
was pleasing to my pride, making me feel that I had in
some measure been successful in my efTorls to establish a
newspaper of merit. It was my policy from the first that
the paper should command the respect of the community
for honesty of purpose, reliability, and decency, and that
people should depend upon it for all legitimate news.
I caused lo be published, for the first time in the history
of the county, full details of the meetings of the Board
of Supervisors and transactions of the City Trustees and
City Board of Education, having quite a controversy with
the members of the last named body over the matter of
sending a reporter to its meetings to record the doings
of the board for publication. The members were indig-
nant and resented the appearance of the reporter as an
intrusion, claiming that they should be allowed to pro-
ceed with the business of school matters in privacy, and
were horror stricken wuth the idea that publication should
be given to what one or another member said in the
transaction of business before them. The board refused
to proceed with its business upon the reporter's appear-
ance at the second meeting. The chairman of the board
came to me personally and requested, begged, and threat-
ened, but I would not be moved, insisting that the public
was entitled to know all that a public ofBccr did in an
oflicial capacity. The board made some futile attempts
to avoid the reporter's presence, but as they were unsuc-
cessful, it soon became reconciled to the new order and
we had no more trouble.

One of the best business strokes I ever made was when
I conceived the idea of sending a competent writer out
into the surrounding country to write up in newsy form
what he found of general interest among the farmers,

— no —

Events in and About Vallejo

fruitgrowers, and stockraisers. His travels took him
around through Solano, Napa, Lake, and part of Sonoma
counties. The articles sent in for publication by our rep-
resentative were very interesting and attracted much
attention to the paper, materially increasing its circula-
tion, while the new subscriptions and other business
picked up by our agent considerably more than paid his
salary and expenses.

— 181 —

CHAPTKH XI

I'OMTICAL AND OTIIKR INCIDENTS

Bitter County Seat Contest — Efforts to Establish Private
Ship Yards — The Comstock Mine Craze — Exciting
Times With the Fire Department — Justice McKenna:
His Rise in Political Life — Visits by Grant, Farragut,
and Hooker.

An attempt to move tlic county scat from Fairfield to
Vallejo was a matter that wrought up the feehngs of all
parts of the county to an extreme state of bitterness and
excitement before the matter was finally settled. The
suggestion of removal originated in the mind of K. H.
Sawyer, at that time a prominent citizen and property
owner of Vallejo, early in 1873. The idea at first was
not received as a popular scheme, but Mr. Sawyer adhered
to his plan and for months w^orked single handed obtain-
ing signatures to a petition, required by law, asking for
the removal. Not until Mr. Sawyer's petition contained
the requisite number of names did he receive any assist-
ance. Then other leading citizens joined him in formu-
lating a plan of action whereby public interest in Vallejo
w^as aroused, and a mass meeting was called. At this
meeting speeches were made setting forth the advantages
that would accrue to Vallejo by reason of being made the
county seat, and an executive committee was selected to
take charge of the campaign. Although Vallejo was
much the largest tow^n in the county, it was located in
the extreme southwest corner, and was regarded by
the people generally as a political hotbed, and for these
reasons it was almost universally opposed in its ambition
to become the county seat by the inhabitants of the other

— 182 —

Political and Other Incidents

towns of the county. Like the Vallejoites, the up-country
people met and organized to combat the efforts of the
former. The petition was presented to the proper authori-
ties and an election was ordered to determine whether
or not the county seat should be moved. The battle was
now on. The Vallejoites made strenuous efforts to win
some of the up-country men to their way of thinking,
with some little success, but it was not safe for an indi-
vidual in the neighborhood of Suisun to express himself
as being in favor of removal. One poor fellow was so
thoughtless as to declare that he was going to vote for
the removal, and the report that reached Vallejo was that
he was promptly ducked in the muddy slough flowing
by that town. No election ever held in the county called
out so many active workers, every possible voter being
made to go to the polls. It was even said, with reasonable
grounds for belief, that all names of deceased persons
and absentees on the great register of some precincts were
voted by men who thought they were performing a duty
to the side of the controversy they represented. When
the votes were counted, all of the precincts had polled
a considerably larger vote than at the general election
held a few months before, ranging from 20 to 85 per cent
increase, and Vallejo won by about 300 votes. The Super-
visors were compelled to declare that the people of the
county had decided to remove the county seat, therefore
on and after February 7, 1874, Vallejo was the seat of
county government.

The up-country people were not beaten yet. They
immediately started a suit to enjoin the removal, employ-
ing a number of prominent attorneys to conduct the case.
Justice McKenna, now on the supreme bench of the United
States, directing the proceedings for the plaintiff's and
winning praise from both sides for the masterly way in
which he presented facts. The Vallejoites did not have
such an imposing array of attorneys, but they had some

— 183 —

Ii('((>ll''< lions of (I S('ivsp(tj)<'ni\(in

good llghtt'i's, iind jillci- ;i hiilllc royjil in the toiiits hisliii^
several days, the judge rendered a deeision in favor of
Vallcjo, denying the api)Ueation for an injunetion. The
onices were removed to Vallejo and that plaee was the
seat of government for the county. The different oHlcials
were located around town in ditrerent huihlings where
suitahle rooms could be obtained, but this was only a
temporary arrangement, as a fine court house and a jail
were to be erected immediately.

However, the up-country people had more fight left
in them yet, but the scene of the contest was shifted to
the state capital. The Legislature was in session, and a
bill had been introduced to divide the county of Solano,
setting Vallejo off by itself as a new county, to enjoy its
new-won prize as it might, with the county boundaries
not much greater than the city limits. The Vallejoites
were incensed. The proposition was most humiliating.
A delegation of the most active citizens was rushed to
Sacramento to combat the bill. The halls and lobbies of
the capitol were filled with citizens from Solano, and woe
to the poor members of either house who showed them-
selves to this crowd of excited and earnest men. Such a
pulling and hauling, coaxing and urging of members was
never seen before nor since. I was one of the number
from Vallejo, and I know I did my share of the disagree-
able work. The earnestness and the zeal with which the
citizens from both sections of the county worked were
soon imparted to many members of the Legislature, pos-
sibly to the detriment of the work they had in hand. It
was soon evident that our opponents had won over to
the support of the division bill a majority of the members
of the Legislature, but we had a fighting chance to defeat
the measure by delaying its consideration in the Assembly
after it had passed the Senate, but on the last day of the
session of the Legislature it was forced through. We
then appealed to Governor Booth to veto the measure and

— /84 —

Political and Other Incidents

he did, but it was generally understood that he privately
intimated to the opposition that if it would get a bill
through, moving the county seat back to Suisun from Val-
lejo, he would sign that. Whether he did or not, when
it was found that the Governor had killed the division
bill, an act removing the county seat back was rushed
through both houses in a few moments' time, while they
were preparing to adjourn, and on March 30, 1874, the
Governor signed the bill and Vallejo was compelled to
give up the seat of government to its victorious opponents.
The ill will and bad blood engendered by the contest
which had lasted for nearly a year was the worst feature
of the affair, the evil influence of the antagonistic feeling
continuing to be felt for years afterward in politics, busi-
ness, and social matters.

In recalling incidents belonging to the period of my
business career prior to my removal from Vallejo, the
occasional visits to our office of a curious character come
into my mind. The man I refer to was a tramp printer
named Haslit, commonly known pretty much all over the
United States as "the Pilgrim." I first made his acquaint-
ance in 1864 in Napa, while I was an apprentice in the
printing office there. The Pilgrim was a small man, then
not much over twenty years old, short in stature and
delicate in limb and features, probably not weighing over
120 pounds. On the occasion of our first meeting he came
into the office clothed in a suit that must have been made
for a 300-pound man. If he had donned them to appear
ridiculous he was most successful. The clothes, besides
being filthy, were torn and in tatters. The Pilgrim was
one of those objects which you instinctively feel like pick-
ing up with a pair of tongs and dumping into the nearest
garbage can. The proprietors of the office put him to
work. Before the first day of his employment was over
we had struck up something of an acquaintance, although
he was quite reticent. I asked him if he would not like

— 185 —

Recollections of a Newspaperman

to exchange the suil he was vvcarinfj for a suit of my
old clotht's, and he said lie woidd be most f^lad lo do so.
In fad, 1k' declared, he fell losl in the trousers he was
wearing, as although they had been cut off at the knees,
there was so much waste room about the belt that his
suspenders were sorely taxed to keep the garment in
proper place. He was a sight. I brought him a suit of
my old clothes from home and the next morning he
made an altogether difTerent appearance. Incidentally I
profited by the gift to Haslit, for I found in the pocket of
my suit some state warrants, being pay for military ser-
vice at the state encampment, mislaid by me some
months before. From that time on the Pilgrim was my
friend, and whenever in the next thirty years or more
he came to California, he seemed to make it a point to
hunt me up. While he talked quite freely with me, tell-
ing me where he had traveled and relating some of his
experiences and observations in different parts of the
country, he was generally credited with avoiding such
familiarity with other people. As a rule, he showed up
in town in periods of about three or four years apart.
When his visits occurred, after I became a proprietor, he
would walk into the printing office and, without asking
whether his services were wanted or not, would hang up
his coat and tell the foreman to give him some copy or
distribution of type to work on. He might work one, two,
or three days, seldom more than three, then say "he
guessed he'd move on." When asked how much he had
done, he would reply that he had not measured it up but
he thought it was so much, generally greatly overstating
the amount. However, he would accept whatever amount
of money was given him, scarcely looking at it, with every
manifestation of satisfaction. When he made up his
mind to leave, no amount of coaxing or offer of double
pay would induce him to remain. One of his peculiarities
was that he would work in only one office in a town. He

— ue —

Political and Other Incidents

was in Vallejo in 1875. At that time he told me that since
he was there, in 1871, he had been across the continent
twice. Leaving Vallejo at the latter date, he went East
via Nevada, Utah, Colorado, etc., working at different
places along the route until he reached Omaha; then he
started down South, following the Missouri and Missis-
sippi rivers until he reached New Orleans. From there
he made a circuit through the Gulf states, Georgia, the
Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland, finally reaching New
York, where he lingered a short time, then started West
and continued in this direction until he reached Cali-
fornia once more. This trip occupied about four years.
The Pilgrim was not a temperate man, although I do not
remember ever seeing him intoxicated, but on one of his
visits to the state I do recollect seeing published an
account of his arrest on a charge of drunkenness in some
neighboring town. The last time I saw him was not long
before I retired from the Oakland Enquirer, or more than
thirty years from the time I first saw him in Napa, He
was still shabby and still dirty; time and the hardships
of the life he was living were telling upon him in the
whitening of his hair and the deepening of the lines in
his face. I often wondered what could have been the
causes that so completely warped and misdirected the
course of his life. What became of Haslit I never knew.
The wages paid to the workmen employed in the navy
yard by Uncle Sam were as a rule a trifle higher than
were paid elsewhere for similar work. The conditions
and hours of work were also more favorable. As a
result, when there was a discharge of employees in the
yard, a considerable number of men would remain in
idleness in Vallejo, awaiting the chance for re-employ-
ment. This practice, involving such a great waste of
labor, attracted my attention. I considered many plans
with a view to utilizing it for the benefit of the commu-
nity. The greatest difficulty I met in my attempt to

— 187 —

!{<•< oUrclioiis of (I Nru>sp<tj)('rni(iii

devise .1 pijulic";)! sclieiiie was llie l;iek ol cMpil;!!. How-
ever, some lime early in 1.S71, aller many conlerenccs
with some ol' llie leading meelianies, I submitted a plan
which was agreed to. In short, it was this: One of their
members, a master sinj) carpenter, was to submit a design
of a hirf»e thi'ee-n)asled schooner. The men were to give
their time and labor in the construction and receive there-
for an interest in the completed vessel. Every week each
was to receive a receipt showing how much labor had
been contributed, and its value. I had obtained an agree-
ment irom a hardware firm to supply the rigging, sails,
etc., accepting an interest in the completed vessel in pay-
ment, also an agreement from Mr. Powell to supply all
the timber on the same terms. Thus we had succeeded
in starting a shipbuilding yard without a cent of money
for working capital. The city authorities gave the unused
part of a street that ended on the bay shore for the ship
yard. In a short time the frames of the new schooner
began to go up, the men working industriously and enthu-
siastically until the vessel was ready for launching. The
vessel was named the Joseph Perkins, after the designer
and superintendent of the work, arid was launched with
something more than the usual ceremony. The plan had
worked so smoothly, nearly up to the time of completion,
that there was no thought of failure in any part of the
scheme, but a certain storekeeper who had been accepting
the workingmen's scrip in lieu of cash for groceries,
attached the schooner, demanding payment in cash for
the amount of scrip held by him. The firms furnishing
rigging and timber were forced to the same action to
protect their interests. There was no money or organiza-
tion to fight the suit brought by the grocerjmian, and the
schooner was sold at auction to satisfy the claims men-
tioned. Sixteen thousand dollars was realized, which was
about half her cost. As nearly all the workmen had traded
ofi" their dues for labor to the storekeeper, the unpleasant

— 188 —

Political and Other Incidents

ending of the enterprise did not cause any very great
hardships. I was greatly chagrined and disappointed that
a weak spot had been left in our arrangements, per-
mitting such an unfortunate ending to the undertaking
when it had almost reached the point of success. The
Joseph Perkins was said to be a finely built vessel by those
competent to judge, and she certainly presented a fine
sight, with her canvas spread, sailing down the bay.

Having established the fact that the workmen of Vallejo
could build sea-going vessels as well at Vallejo as could
be constructed elsewhere, I went to work on a plan of
incorporating a shipbuilding company with stock sub-
scriptions sufficient to raise enough money to pay for the
labor in building a full-rigged ship. The materialmen
were to come in on the same plan as with the schooner.
In recognition of my activities in the enterprise, I was
elected president of the company. I worked hard for
several weeks and succeeded in getting signatures for the
amount required. Grounds for the ship yard were pur-
chased, a "loft" and tool shed built, and everything was
ready to lay the keel, when I was compelled to go East
on a trip connected with matters personal to myself. Dur-
ing my absence the official acting in my place called
in some portion of the subscription money. Whether
through inadvertence or intentional purpose I do not
know, but demands were made upon the materialmen
for payment in cash of the percentage of the amount they
had subscribed to be paid in materials. This started a
row which grew to such proportions before my return
that it could only be settled in the courts. The shipbuild-
ing enterprise was killed and the property sold. After
the business was all settled up, some little money was
left which was paid back to the subscribers. The under-
taking cost me a round thousand dollars in coin, the
amount of my subscription, as well as a lot of hard work.
Some little benefit accrued to the community by reason

— 189 —

RpcoUrrlioDs of a Xrins/xiprrnnin

of (nir wofk. A slrccl \\;is ciil lliroiii*!) ;i liif^li liill, f^i\iiif^
access lo a section of (own on llie water Iroiit that had
been inaccessible except by a rounchitioiil way. Tlie ship
yard fell into the hands of a (iiin which had established
an industry there, giving; employment to a few hands.
This second faihir(> rather dampened my efforts lo find
employment for the idle workmen of the navy yard force.
In view of the growth of llu- shipbuilding industry around
the bay in subsequent years, had this misunderstanding
not occurred, a permanent business would probably have
been the outcome of our enterprise.

Among other activities to advance the interests of Val-
lejo was the organization of a Board of Trade in '76 or
'77, I was made president of the organization and served
in tliat capacity until leaving Vallejo. It was an active
organization, though I do not recall any accomplishment
of special importance. Considerable effort was made by
the board to induce certain manufactories and other
industrial enterprises to locate in Vallejo, but the fact
that larger wages were being paid at the navy yard made
managers of such business timid about locating there.

During the mining excitement aroused by the discovery
of silver-gold ledges on Mount St. Helena in 1874, in which
I participated to some extent, I learned of the existence
of some chrome iron deposits in Napa County. I made
an investigation with a view to finding out if the ore had
any economic value, and, if so, how it was to be treated
or disposed of, to realize on it. I found there was only
one buyer, a firm in San Francisco representing the
chrome works of Baltimore. A talk with the members or
agents of the firm developed their method of doing busi-
ness with owners of chrome iron deposits, a method that
did not seem very fair to the mine owners. Before the
agents would make a price on any ore, they insisted upon
knowing the exact location of the mine, which enabled
them to figure exactly the cost per ton for delivery of ore

— 190 —

Political and Other Incidents

at tidewater. Then to the total cost of mining and
transportation they would allow $1 per ton for profit to
the mine owner. So for some ore located comparatively
near the bay they would pay, say, $12 per ton, and for
ore located where it would cost $4 or $5 more per ton to
get it to a shipping point, they would just as willingly pay
$16 to $17 per ton. I did not like this way of dealing and
concluded to go East and see if I could not find a market
for chrome iron where the owners of the deposit could
secure all that their ore was worth. I left Vallejo on
March 11, 1875, on the overland train, on my first trip
across the continent by rail. In those days the trains ran
very slowly, requiring seven days' time to reach New York
from San Francisco. Eating houses along the road were
so few and so poor, and trains so irregular in reaching
points where meals were obtainable, that passengers
started out with big lunch baskets stored with eatables to
last them until Omaha, at least, was reached. Pullinan
cars had not been introduced on the overland road at that
time, and dining cars were a convenience that came some
few years later. The company had sleeping cars, though,
which were not quite as luxuriously finished as the Pull-
mans, but so far as I remember were quite as comfortable
and convenient. They were styled "palace cars."

In the Rocky Mountains we ran into some extremely
cold weather and a snow blockade, which did not prove to
be a very serious matter, however. We arrived in Chicago
nearly on time but in the midst of a sleety blizzard. In
going from the train to my uncle's store, I thought I would
perish from the cold, which seemed to penetrate to my
very bones. That night I slept but little on account of the
cold, although the bed was piled with everything I could
find in the room to make more covering. The next day
the sun shone and the natives called it pleasant weather,
but to my notion it was anything else, as the thermometer
indicated several degrees below the freezing point. My

— 191 —

lii'i-ollcclioiis of (I S ('U>sp(ij)rnn<in

rchilivcs insisk'd upon showiiif^ iik; around the city. Wc
wero out on llic trip some three or lour hours, and when
we got baek home I Fell as il 1 liad heen that long in an
ice ehest, and my lingers were frost bitten. After leaving
Chieago I visited I^ittshurgh, Washinglon, Baltimore,
Phihidelphia, and New York. In all these eities, as well as
in Chicago, I visited every place where I thought some-
thing about the chrome iron business could be learned,
I was very thorough in my search and gathered much
information. Having completed my round I had the
knowledge that there was only one consumer or purchaser
of raw ore of any consequence in the I'nited States, and
only two in Europe. The one in this country was located
at Baltimore and was represented in California by the
agents in San Francisco, previously referred to. In Phila-
delphia I met a gentleman who told me his experience
in an attempt to establish a plant for the manufacture of
chromates from chrome ore, which gave me some idea
of how absolutely the market was under the control of
the existing factories. He said he found quite a large
deposit of chrome iron in California, the owner of which
made a favorable contract with him to sell the ore on a
tonnage basis. He chartered a ship which carried about
2000 tons of ore and commenced putting up reduction
works in or near Philadelphia while waiting for the ves-
sel to come "around the Horn" with the cargo of ore. He
noticed the price of the manufactured article began to
drop, and before the ship arrived it was selling below
any rate which he could make. So he quickly took the
hint when he was asked if he did not want to sell his cargo
afloat. He let it go for less than it cost him, charging up
his loss to experience, and made no further effort to
establish chrome iron works. I had gone to Baltimore for
the special purpose of calling on the firm which seemed
to have such a strong grip on the business, and, on giving
my name, I was courteously received and was told they
— 192 —

Political and Other Incidents

had heard of my presence on that side of the country
and understood the nature of my business. I was unable
to obtain any statement promising a different method of
deahng with the Cahfornia mine owners and was practi-
cally told such matters were left with their California
agents. It is perhaps needless to say that I lost all further
interest in chrome iron mines and returned to California
by the most direct route. 1 was absent on the trip about
thirty days. While in the different cities I made it a point
to call on our relatives living in such places and also
had the pleasure of meeting some prominent men in
Washington, among whom 1 recall Senator A. A. Sargent
and Chief Naval Constructor Hanscom. 1 had a letter
of introduction to Mr. Bristow, Secretary of the Treasury,
but did not find time to present it.

There lived in our part of the country a man by the
name of John Neate, an Englishman by birth. He was
a man of more than ordinary education and refinement.
He had some knowledge of mineralogy and an insatiable
desire to engage in mining. Not long after I made Vallejo
my home, I heard of Neate's prospecting in the hills back
of town and that he was opening up a deposit of cinnabar.
His work interested me because of my finding the rich
piece of ore in the same neighborhood several years
previous, a fact I have mentioned in the earlier part of
these memoirs. Mr. Neate, in his first location, failed to
find ore in any considerable quantity, although he spent
no small amount of money and effort in his attempt.
Some few years later he found a more promising prospect
on the Joseph Wilson ranch, a mile or two further north
of the other prospect, and it became what is now known
as the St. John mine. He soon found enough ore to war-
rant the erection of a small furnace of his own design.
With this furnace in operation and the aid of a few
miners, he began to realize some part of the hope that
had been in his mind for years past. He was making

— 193 —

lircollcclions of <i Ncips/jaftrrnuin

Mioiicy easily and (jiiitc rapidly, lor quicksilver was then
selling' lor nearly ^\ per j)()iind. H" he had not been inipa-
lienl he would iindouhledly have become a rich man. He
Ihoiight that, ir his lillle 10-lon furnace was making
money for him, a lO-lon lurnace would be proportionately
that much more prolitable. There is where he made the
error that finally brought to him financial disaster and
the loss of the mine. To enable him to build the new
furnace and run a long tunnel to connect the ore body
with it, he borrowed J|540,000 from John B. Felton. He
had a partner in the mine, and the buying out of that
interest also involved him in further debt. When the
new furnace was fixed and put in operation it failed to
reduce the ore. It would not work satisfactorily. As a
consequence Mr. Neate could not meet his obligations,
which by this time were many. The property was sold
under attachment and, if my memory is correct, was bid
in by some of the lesser creditors in satisfaction of their
claims. The Felton estate lost its loan in the wreckage.
Previous to the failure the mine had been considered
worth between $200,000 and $300,000. Quite large bodies
of good ore had been struck or opened up. Owing to the
large consumption of quicksilver in the Comstock milling
plants at Virginia City, Nev., and the high price of the
metal, good quicksilver mines were sought after. An
agent of Senator Jones of Nevada requested me to obtain
for him an option on the St. John mine. I could not get
a wTitten agreement but the owners agreed to sell the
mine to me for $200,000. I notified Jones's agent and an
expert was sent to examine the property, with the result
that the agent informed me that the senator wanted the
mine and would give the price and pay me handsomely
for mj' trouble. I notified Neate's partner to close the
deal. Neate and his partner in some way mussed up the
matter so that the senator became displeased and refused
to consider the property any further. Subsequently
— 1U —

Political and Other Incidents

Neate made something of a stake in mining operations
and went to London with the hope of promoting on a
large scale. The last I heard of him was that he was
traveling through the cities and towns of California, going
from house to house gaining a precarious livelihood sell-
ing a little pamphlet of poems of which he was the author.
While writing of John Neate and his mine I am
reminded of a visit to the property by an Eastern gentle-
man named Hale, who a few years later became
Governor of New Hampshire. Mr. Hale was engaged in
the manufacture of furniture in that state, and in connec-
tion with his business made yearly trips to the Pacific
Coast. On one of these trips we met and formed an
acquaintance lasting for several years. While calling on
Mr. Hale in San Francisco on one occasion, he remarked
that he had never seen a mine and expressed a desire to
go into one so that he could tell his Eastern friends how
mining work was conducted. I offered to give him letters
to some Nevada County miners but he thought it would
take more time than he could spare to go to Nevada City
or Grass Valley. I happened to think of the St. John
mine as one affording the opportunity he wished for with
the expenditure of but little time, so invited him to come
to Vallejo. When we arrived at the mine he expressed
some reluctance to going underground, but finally I
induced him to take a candle and enter the mine with
me through the 800-foot tunnel. At the end of the tunnel
where it intersected the ore body quite a chamber had
been cut out and two or three ore chutes were installed
to receive the ore being mined in the upper levels. These
chutes were lined with iron. Mr. Hale stood with his
back to one, leaning on it, while the foreman was explain-
ing how the ore lay in the formation of the wall near by.
He was much interested until a carload of ore was
dumped into the chute from the uppermost level. The
falling ore striking the sides and finally the iron lining

— 195 —

liccoUcclions of a yriDspaprrnum

of llic clinic, made ;i Icii-ilic noise. Il w;is ;is il llic whole
loj) of llie mine had lallcii in. Mr. Ilale with ^real trif»lil
dropped Ills candle and, Icapiiif^ like a di cr, ran out
through the tunnel. I could not stop him wilh my shouts.
When I reached the outside, there he stood in great
excitement, bespattered with mud from he;id to loot. He
seemed glad to see nic and was anxious to know if any
more had escaped with their lives. H( llioughl the whole
top of the mine had fallen in. No amount of explanation
that no one was hurt and there had not been an accident
would induce him to return to the mine. Mis nerves had
received a shock that killed all further interest in mine
work.

The two great mining epochs of the Coast were the
placer mining era of pioneer days and the later Comstock
period. Both yielded fortunes to many people but in
decidedly different ways. The wealth won in the first
instance was due to legitimate efforts in mining the pre-
cious metal from the earth, and it was distributed among
a greater number of people. In this period neither did
any one fortune ever approximate any of the larger accu-
mulations of wealth that gi'ew out of the Comstock era,
but for a time when the number of millionaires in the
United States could be counted on the fingers of one hand,
the fortunes of pioneer daj's were considered large if not
extraordinary. While the value of the gold and silver
yielded by the Comstock mines was equal if not greater
than the amount wrested from the gravels of the early
day mines, it was not directly by the distribution of these
riches that the majority of the fortunes were made. It
was by the buying and selling of the shares of stock repre-
senting the ownership of the Comstock that many became
wealthy. Never before or since has the state witnessed
such an era of stock gambling craze. There were few
people in the country hereabouts who were not familiar
with the value of all the principal Comstock shares, even
— 196 —

Political and Other Incidents

if they did not own some. It was the condition and devel-
opment in the mines that principally influenced the rise
and fall of prices of the shares. Not infrequently the
fluctuations were exceedingly sharp, and shares that may
have cost a few hundred dollars one day could be sold a
few days later for many thousands. The striking of a
new body of ore, any improvement, or pinching out of a
bonanza would be first known to the management or
those on the inside in control of the mines. Inside infor-
mation of mine conditions was used to the greatest advan-
tage in buying and selling shares, and was imparted to
friends for their benefit and sometimes for their loss, for
it was not always reliable. I went through nearly the
entire stock craze period wdthout the slightest desire to
speculate in the stocks. Undoubtedly I was influenced by
my loss of $800 some few years previous in the Humboldt
oil excitement. However, I had a very narrow escape
from a loss of several thousand near the close of the
period. Colonel Jackson, who had profited by invest-
ments in shares to no small extent, quite frequently
had given me inside information on mine conditions,
which, if I had taken advantage of, would have yielded
no small gain. On this occasion, meeting my friend in
San Francisco, he called my attention to the fact that I
had not availed myself of the advantage of the informa-
tion or "tips" he had given me, but he would give me one
more. He explained how a body of ore had been found in
the Best & Belcher, I think it was, and with the publicity
of the information to be made the next day, the price of
the stock would go skyward. I told him that I would think
the matter over and when I reached home would telegraph
him my conclusions. That evening I wired him to pur-
chase a certain number of the shares, saying that I
would send down next week the $3000 or $4000 margin
needed for the deal. Naturally I sought the following
issues of the morning and evening papers from San

— 197 —

Hccollrrlions of <t Ncwspapcnndu

Francisco lor llic unlicipatcd rise in the \)v\vv ol llic
slock. Instead of an advance the (piolalions showed a
shrinkage. In truth, the price of the slock of the Best
& Helclier has never been as high since as on liie day on
which I ordered the purchase. Agreeable with my prom-
ise, I went to the city with llie money and tendered it
to the colonel. He was surprised, saying he had not
received any telegram from me. At first I liiouglit his
attitude was due to his generous desire to befriend me
and save me from loss, but he insisted that he had not
received the order from me. So we went down to the
telegraph office to see what had become of the telegram
I had sent. The investigation developed the fact that my
dispatch had been handed to a green messenger boy,
who had left the message in a tailor shop adjoining the
colonel's place of business, and the tailor not being able
to read did not know what to do with it. In this way.
by the combination of two very fortunate and unusual
incidents in telegraph operations, I was saved from the
loss of the first money I was tempted to put into min-
ing stock, and no one was more pleased that the trans-
action turned out as it did than Colonel Jackson. It was
one time when luck seemed to be on my side.

To give an idea how some fortunes were made in deal-
ing in Comstock shares, I will mention two or three
transactions coming under my observation which are
illustrative of deals common to that period. Four hun-
dred shares of Consolidated Virginia costing $2.50 per
share, sold for $1000 per share. One lot of Crown Point
shares costing $9 per share, sold for $1360 per share;
Gould & Curry, costing $60, sold for $500. It was said, and
my observations seemed to confirm it, that the majority
of these suddenly-made fortunes were lost in the same
gambling pit whence they came.

For many years the fire department of Vallejo con-
sisted of a hook and ladder company, a hose company,

— 198 —

Political and Other Incidents

and two fire engine companies; the latter using the old-
fashioned hand-brake engines, one of which, though,
had proved itself to be very efficient and had a great
record as an extinguisher of fires and belonged to San
Pablo Company No. 1. The membership of the fire
department was made up of volunteers, who received
no pay for their services. However, at that time mem-
bers of a fire company in good standing under a state
law did have privileges of which the firemen were very
jealous. They were exempt from payment of poll tax
and jury duty. About 1875 or 1876, the state Legislature
repealed or amended the law so that the firemen were
no longer exempted from paying poll tax. This aroused
the members of the San Pablo engine company to a high
sense of indignation. The company held several meet-
ings for the discussion of the situation and finally on
July 13, 1876, resolved to disband. They first manned
the ropes and paraded the main street with the engine,
after which they returned to the house, pulling the
machine into place in reverse position, and dispersed.
The action of the company was a serious matter, con-
sidering that the town was largely built up with frame
structures. The next day I went around the town and
secured the signatures of about thirty business men to
an agreement obligating themselves to form a new vol-
unteer fire company. This document was presented to
the city trustees with the request to turn over the appa-
ratus to the new company. The petition was granted.
At that time the engine house was located at the foot
of Georgia Street on the north side. One of the first
things the new company did was to remove the build-
ing to a more central location up town, on Virginia
Street, near Sacramento. The new organization proved
faithful to its duties, though they became quite onerous.
For a while the company was called out almost nightly
in responding to false alarms and incendiary fires. It

— 199 —

I{r<()ll('(li(nis of a ^I'lvsjxtpcniKui

seems lli.it some memlxis of Hie (lisl);iii(le(l company
rcf»ar(le(l their aelioii as being in the nature of a strike,
and the new organization was looked upon i)y theni as
a strike-breaking device, and llic members of the new
company were considered "scabs." It is only fair to say
that this feehng was not entertained by all the mem-
bers of the old company, but was manifested only by a
small number of the younger and less responsible men.
However, they made it exceedingly unpleasant and excit-
ing for the entire community. The incendiarism had
become so frequent and threatened such great damage
to the town, that a vigilance committee was organized,
providing a night patrol of the main streets, citizens act-
ing as patrolmen as they would be called upon by the
committee. Threats to maim and kill were made from
anonymous sources to the leading members of the new
fire company if they should persist in responding to
fire alarms. However, they assembled so quickly and in
such numbers that no serious assault was ever made.
The organization of the vigilance committee seemed to
put an end to the trouble, and after a period of peace
and quiet the patrol was abandoned, but one Sunday
morning at 3 o'clock the heavens were illuminated by
a sudden burst of flames in the center of town. With the
sounding of the alarm, there was a rush of firemen and
citizens to the location of the blaze, which proved to
be the San Pablo engine house. The roof was a mass
of flames. An attempt to open the front doors proved
that they had been fastened against any unlocking.
They were finally battered down, but all attempts to
remove the hose cart and engine were fruitless, as
they had been fastened to the floor to secure their
destruction. The fire inside the building had gained
such headway that nothing could be done to undo
the fastenings, and the crowd of citizens were com-
pelled to stand idly by and witness the wilful destruc-

— 200 —

Political and Other Incidents

tion of the city's most effective fire-fighting machine.
The smell of coal oil at the fire, the suddenness
of the blaze, together with the circumstances above
related left no doubt as to the origin. The coming of
daylight, however, gave further and convincing evidence
of the incendiary act. From the sidewalk in front of
the place where the engine house had stood, to the alley
entrance of a saloon about a block aw^ay, was a trail
clearly marked by dripping of coal oil. It was well known
that the coterie of members of the old organization that
had showed so much opposition to the formation of the
new company made this saloon their headquarters.
Beyond the circumstantial evidence related, no further
information as to who the culprits were was ever devel-
oped during my time in Vallejo. No one was arrested
for the deed, though nearly everybody was satisfied as
to who was responsible for it. The citizens were aroused
and a greater interest centered in the fire company.
With the aid of the city authorities we purchased a small
steam fire engine, housed it in a vacant store in the
Masonic Hall building and placed a guard over the prop-
erty. Whether the vandals became frightened, or were
satisfied with the destruction of the old apparatus, we
never knew. We had no more trouble. The company
with its new engine made a creditable record. The mem-
bership was made up of leading storekeepers, bankers,
and lawyers. S. G. Hilborn, afterward Congressman from
the third district, was one of the most active members.
At one fire my familiarity with the operation of steam
engines came into play. I performed the duty of engi-
neer, getting the engine to work in what I thought was
fairly good time. When I retired from business in 1879
I sent in my resignation as a member of the fire com-
pany, but in the letter of acceptance I was notified that I
had been elected an honorary member.

The prosperity of Vallejo was so closely allied with the

— 201 —

Kerollrrlions of a Newspaperman

work hiid out for llic luivy yurd lli;il oiii' newspaper
kept in ;is closi.- touch willi lIic navy yard authorities and
deparlinenl ollicials as possible lor the purpose of secur-
ing all information that would be news. On one occasion
I had information of the possibility of orders being issued
at Washington for the performance of certain things
which were of considerable importance to the people
in Vallejo. A former employee of mine had taken a posi-
tion in the navy yard, the duties of which occasionally
brought him into its main office building. I had requested
him to keep his eyes and cars open for the anticipated
orders. One day, shortly after, just before the paper was
going to press there was placed in my hands a copy of
a telegram from the Secretary of the Navy to the com-
inandant of the navy yard embracing the order I had
been looking for. The publication of the news was a
pleasure to the community, but was the cause of an
uproar in the commandant's office. The chief clerk, Cox,
was summarily dismissed from office and mischief was
at play generally. I explained to the commandant that
while I could not tell him how I came by the copy of the
telegram, he had most unjustly accused his chief clerk.
He would not accept my statement clearing Mr. Cox
unless I would tell him everything, which was impos-
sible. The real culprit was never suspected of having
any connection with the affair. I never told how I
obtained the copy of the telegram, but as no harm can
come to any one now, as nearly all the participants have
passed away, I will give the facts. It was supposed that
this telegram after being received was laid on the com-
mandant's desk. He was out at the time or had stepped
out just after its receipt, for it lay on his desk until a
gust of wind through an open window blew the telegram
and some other papers on the floor. My man came into
the room and seeing the papers scattered around, pro-
ceeded to pick them up and replace them on the desk.

— 202 —

Political and Other Incidents

His eyes dropped upon the message, the substance of
which he committed to memory while replacing the
papers. Then he stepped out of the room without being
seen and subsequently sent me the news. I admit it was
a great deal like receiving stolen goods, and I never felt
quite satisfied about it after the commandant acted as
he did, although there was no good reason for his
withholding the information. Mr. Cox was finally
re-employed in the yard, but I think he was compelled
to accept a subordinate position.

Justice Joseph McKenna, who for the last ten years or
more has been an honored member of the Supreme Court
of the United States, entered upon the practice of law
in Solano County about the same time that I began the
publication of the Chronicle in Vallejo. His residence
was in Suisun. I soon became acquainted with him
and our acquaintance grew into a friendship that has
never ended. I admired him for the brilliancy of his
mind, cleanliness of his character, his high ideals, and
his sense of honor and truthfulness. As an attorney in
pleadings in courts and as a public speaker he always
appeared to great advantage, and attained more than
local reputation. When he became a candidate for the
Legislature in 1875 it was a pleasure to assist him in his
election. He took position at once as one of the leaders
on the floor of the Assembly, and on more than one occa-
sion carried measures to victory by the force of his argu-
ments and power of oratory. The defeat of the enact-
ment of a bill to repeal the Compulsory Education Act
was due to his untiring efforts. The opposition to the bill
was strenuous and much oratory came from both sides
of the question. His conduct in the bitter contest over
this measure and the ability he displayed won for him
commendation and compliment from his opponents and
the opposition newspapers. His advocacy and vote for
the bill were unquestionably the cause of his defeat a

— 203 —

liccoHrcfions of a Srivsj)<iprrin(ii\

sliorM lime ;iri('i'\v;ii(l when lie iippcittcd 1)( loic tiic peo-
ple as llic Itcpiiblican caii<li(l;ilc Jor (^on^icss in the old
third dislricl. It was supposed that some religious iidlu-
cncc was behind the hill, which, being chaf^rined at defeat,
sought to even tilings by defeating McKenna for C(jn-
gress. Hut |)e()|)h- generally understood and appreciated
his high minded and honorable stand and honored him
for it.

There are some other incidents in connection with that
Congressional election worth relating. Justice McKenna
was nominated in the Congressional convention held in
August as the Republican candidate for his district. His
opponent on the Democratic ticket was J. K. Luttrell,
who had the advantage of being the incumbent. He was
a hustling chap, alive to all the arts and devices of poli-
ticians in getting votes, and did not scruple to say any-
thing on or off the stump, regardless of the underlying
facts, that he thought would advance his political inter-
ests. For a couple of times he was invincible as a candi-
date, but his tactics, reckless declarations, and promises
finally made him easy to defeat. The Vallejo Chronicle
made a vigorous fight against Luttrell when he was
opposed to McKenna for the position of Congressman,
but the district then was very large, extending away
beyond the limits of the general circulation of our
paper. It embraced the entire northern part of the state
from Carquinez Straits and Sacramento north to the
state line. Perhaps we did not assist McKenna or injure
Luttrell in that election even within the radius of
the circulation of our paper, but the contest we waged
may, and I think did, have its influence in the succeed-
ing Congressional election.

Soon after the nominations in 1876 the nominees were
in the field making efforts to cover the great district and
to address and meet as many of the voters as was pos-
sible. Reports soon began to reach us that Luttrell was

— 204 —

Political and Other Incidents

making all kinds of misstatements about the Republican
candidate, charging, among other things, that McKenna
was afraid to meet him in joint debate, in such language
that one would infer he had challenged McKenna and
the latter had avoided him. Luttrell kept getting bolder
in this matter and finally was faced by some of McKenna's
friends. Then he attempted to hedge by denying the
use of the language attributed to him. However, the
upshot of this meeting was a challenge on the part of
Luttrell and its acceptance by McKenna. An arrange-
ment for the debate was fixed for the evening of Octo-
ber 26, at St. Helena, Napa County. This was some little
time ahead, and because the itinerary of both candidates
brought them into that place the same night, it was
arranged that the Republicans and Democrats should
gather in the one hall and listen to the candidates. By
the conditions of the challenge and acceptance, McKenna
was to open the debate and close, and be allowed one
and a half hours for opening and a half hour for clos-
ing. Luttrell was to have one hour and a half — a total of
three hours and a half for the debate. The night before
the debate McKenna spoke in Yolo County or Yuba, and
had to start from Knights Landing or Marysville very early
next morning on the only train that made connections,
so that he could get into St. Helena on time for the meet-
ing in the evening. He left orders to be called in the
morning that he might take the train, but it was not
done. He was awakened by the whistling of the depart-
ing train, and hastily dressing he sought some of his
friends to aid him in devising means to overcome the
embarrassment that his predicament threatened. His
failure to meet Luttrell at St. Helena would confirm all
the wild assertions the latter had been making. Besides,
it would discourage and humiliate McKenna's own party
and friends. All agreed that he must be landed in St.
Helena in some way, and it was finally arranged to take

— 205 —

Ticiollcclioiis of (I Nru).sp(ij)('rin(iii

a lif»lit l)ii^i*y willi a doiihlc team and arraiif^e by tcle-
^rai)li lo have iclay Icaiiis ahead al necessary poJFits
al()n{4 llie road. In (liis way lliey di'ove across the coun-
try lo a station in Solano County to connect witli a train
that enabled McKenna to reach St. Helena in time to
take his place on the platform.

It was evident by the remarks Lutlrell was making
that evening that he was informed of McKenna's misfor-
tune and did not know that he had overcome the trouble.
An immense crowd had assembled and the neighbor-
ing towns contributed delegations of people interested in
the contest. Luttrell and the managers of the meeting were
on the stand, and only a few minutes remained before
the hour announced to begin the debate. McKenna's
friends began to manifest a nervous anxiety, and Luttrell
a corresponding degree of elation. He had been pre-
dicting that evening that his opponent would dodge the
meeting by laying blame on the railroad. Almost at the
moment when all despaired of McKenna's presence, he
appeared on the scene as if dropped out of the sky to
save the day for the Republicans. As he walked up to
the platform he was cheered as a hero. Luttrell's face
was a study. Something had gone wrong. Nobody knew
just what had happened, and they could only speculate.

The preliminaries were brief. McKenna stepped to the
front and spoke for one hour and a half in language
forceful and brilliant, with a dignified but pleasing man-
ner, and most courteous in the references to the Con-
gresssman, his opponent. His friends were ^\'ild with
delight and were not slow in manifesting their feelings.

When Luttrell took the platform in reply it was clear
that he had lost his composure. He was irritated and
angry and appeared at great disadvantage. He realized
that the vast audience recognized the superiority of
McKenna as an educated man and an orator. Luttrell
used his hour and a half. During the course of his speech

— 206 —

Political and Other Incidents

he made a very serious charge reflecting upon the Repub-
lican party which, he claimed, was supported by an
official report which he had in his possession.

When the time came for McKenna to close the debate
he referred to the foregoing charge and suddenly turned
and asked Luttrell for the privilege of looking at the
"official report." The latter began to dive among his
papers and documents, hemming, and hawing, and at last
muttered "it must have been misplaced."

"Never mind," said McKenna, "I can wait," and stood
immovable, watching the movements of Luttrell and wait-
ing for the "report."

Finally, in pure desperation Luttrell produced the
alleged report. McKenna looked at it, then instantly held
it up to the audience, and there was displayed a Demo-
cratic campaign document with the very unofficial head-
ing on its title page: "Republican Lies." A roar went
up from that crowd that fairly shook the ground. Words
were unnecessary. About all the comment McKenna
made was: "There was a time when Congressmen were
expected to instruct their constituents, but here is a man
who would mislead them."

The scene at the close of McKenna's speech was some-
thing remarkable, and such a demonstration at a politi-
cal meeting is seldom recorded. Such shouting and
cheering! Democrats struggled with Republicans for the
privilege of shaking McKenna's hand. Finally the crowd
picked him up and carried him off to the hotel. Luttrell,
contrary to the arrangement of the debate, attempted
to make another address, but no one would stop to listen
to him. In less than three minutes he was left alone with
his shorthand reporter, to find his way to the hotel as
best he could. The crowd went with the victor. The mat-
ter would have probably ended there had not Luttrell
been so indiscreet as to have claimed in subsequent
speeches to have annihilated his opponent in the debate.

— 207 —

h'ccolh'cliotis of a Nrii)sp(i/)cnn(m

In response lo lliis <ic(l;ii;ili()ii, oiii- pjipci- cluillcii^cd Liil-
trcll to ^ivc his sIioiIIi.iikI report ol the debate lo tiie
press lor publication. I'inally we ollered to pay liiin lor
the report and agreed to publish it, but of all our goad-
ing he took no notice.

The Saturday night before the election Luttrell spoke
in Vallejo. As I was the presiding ollicer oI" a Hepublican
meeting that night, I was unable to attend the gathering
to hear the Democratic Congressman. It was unfortu-
nate, for when he arose to speak he looked around the
audience and asked if Mr. Leach were present. When sat-
isfied that I was not there he held out a bundle of manu-
script, saying: "Here is that shorthand report of the
St. Helena debate, and I will give •^f'SO to have it pub-
lished." He made the most of my absence and failure to
accept his offer. I did not learn of the incident until
the next morning while I was in a barber shop being
shaved. I looked at the clock and saw by the time that
Mr. Luttrell could not have left the hotel yet, and though
but half shaved I rushed to the hotel, picking up two or
three acquaintances on the way. I found the Congress-
man in the hotel office. I told him I had just heard of
his offer of the night before and was there to accept it.
He then changed the proposition so that I was required
to contribute to his H^oO an equal amount for the benefit
of the schools. I accepted the offer immediately and
started to write a check, when he said he would be unable
to carry out the proposition, as the report was in San
Francisco. Then I called attention to the fact that he
claimed to have had it in his hand the night before w^hen
he offered it for publication. I wanted to know which
was the truthful statement, "The one made then, or now?"
He replied: "It is just like you black Republicans to take
advantage of me when you know I sent that report off
in my trunk !" and then bolted for the street. The absurd-
ity of the reply caused a big laugh from the crowd that

— 208 —

Political and Other Incidents

had gathered in the hotel lobby, and that was the end
of it. He was elected, to my great disgust and lessened
confidence in the power of the press. Without going into
details which now perhaps have lost their interest, the
gentleman was subsequently retired to private life. He
was not without some good points as a Congressman. He
was untiring in the performance of his duties in Wash-
ington, and was ambitious to give good services to his
constituents and his country.

A few years later, in 1882, in the Republican congres-
sional convention that assembled at Benicia, McKenna
was again given the nomination. The district had now
been changed so to include only a few of the more popu-
lated counties in the central part of the state, which were
strongly Republican in vote. As a nomination was almost
equivalent to an election, there were at least three other
very strong candidates contesting for the nomination. We
balloted nearly the entire afternoon. I do not recall how
many ballots were taken. No candidate had a sufficient
number of votes to give him the nomination, but the
McKenna supporters were the most active, enthusiastic,
and determined. Finally, late in the afternoon, the break
came and McKenna was made the unanimous choice of
the convention, and at the following election in the fall
was elected.

In Congress, McKenna quickly won a place of influence,
commanding the respect of the foremost members of the
House. When the lamented McKinley was chairman of
the Committee of Ways and Means of the House, I heard
him speak of the young Californian's ability and sound-
ness of judgment, in terms that showed that eminent
statesman placed McKenna in the foremost ranks of the
Congressmen of that day. President Harrison held
McKenna in the same esteem, for he appointed him United
States Circuit Judge, and Mr. McKenna was filling this
position when McKinley was elected President. Know-

— 20.9 —

RecoUrrlions of a Newspaperman

ing the opinion of the latter and the high regard he had
for the material (fiiahtics of the Congressman, I was
ahnost certain that he woiihl invite MeKenna to accept
a position in his Cahinet. It so proved, and Justice
McKenna was made Attorney General of the United
States, a position he tilled with credit to himself and
the country, until lie was made a member of the
Supreme Court of the United States. His career has been
a successful one and a matter of pride to his friends
of early days. It is worthy of more than passing notice.
It shows how much character counts in life's course
and what can be accomplished in life by determination,
application, and tenacity of purpose. Here is a man early
endowed with noble traits of manhood, imbued wdth
determination to learn and ambition to excel, modest but
courageous; who fought his way from poor boyhood in a
little country town in California to one of the most exalted
positions in our governinent.

During my residence in Vallejo the place was honored
by visits of several of the most distinguished men of our
country. Admiral David Farragut, the naval hero of the
Civil War, was not only a frequent visitor, but was one
of the large property owners of Vallejo. Some years
before the war, when the admiral was on duty on the
Coast, he became impressed with the idea that Vallejo
enjoyed a location that gave promise of development of
a city of importance, and he purchased two or three lots
in the main business part of the city, as well as some
residence lots. When some years later the city began to
grow he erected substantial brick buildings on the busi-
ness lots. The upper part of one was made into a theater
and was known as "Farragut Hall." Many of the Vallejo-
ites enjoyed a personal acquaintance with the admiral,
which in some cases extended back a number of years,
when he was stationed at the navy yard and before he
had attained his great fame. His personality was most

— 210 —

Political and Other Incidents

agreeable; he was quiet and unaffected in manner, aff'able
and gentle in speech — qualities that added to his popular-
ity and caused him to be greatly admired and beloved by
the Vallejoites.

General U. S. Grant, the famous commander and
ex-President, visited Vallejo and the navy yard on his
trip around the world. The occasion was made a holiday,
and the demonstration on the part of the citizens in
welcoming the great soldier to Vallejo was hearty and
most creditable to them and most pleasing to the
visitor. Being one of the officials of the day, I enjoyed
the pleasure of shaking hands with General Grant and
exchanging a few words with him. A few nights later I
was an invited guest at a banquet given in San Francisco,
attended by General Grant. Sitting next to me at the
table was Fred MacCrellish, one of the publishers of the
San Francisco Alta, who had served with Grant in the
Mexican War and who was intimately acquainted with
him. MacCrellish asked me if I had an autograph of
the general. I replied in the negative. "Well, I will get
one for you." So saying, he wrote on a card, asking who
was in command of a certain battery in one of the battles
of the conflict with Mexico and sent it to the general by
a waiter. In a few moments the card was returned with
the reply signed by the general in his characteristic sig-
nature. MacCrellish then turned the card over to me and
I have it yet. Some twenty-five years later I became
acquainted with U. S. Grant, Jr., who bore a remarkable
resemblance to his father both in looks and manner. The
junior Grant, after attaining a residence in California
through making his home and investments in San Diego,
aspired to be elected to the United States Senate. How-
ever, he was defeated and retired from the political field.

General Hooker, an old Californian, and known to fame
in the Civil War as "Fighting Joe," visited Vallejo in the
seventies and was given a warm reception by the citizens.

— 211 —

Jii'coUrcliaiis of <i Neivspaperindii

He rciiKiiiu'd in lown a couple ol days rt'iievviiig friend-
ships willi old ac(|uaifilaiic{'s ol pioneer days and com-
rades in liie lale war. A nuniher of old sohliers called
on the general al his hold. Willi Ihc parly was an attor-
ney and veteran of the Mexican War named Judge
Coombs. He shook hands with the general, when the
hitter measured the judge from head to foot and said:

"I have seen you somewiiere before."

"Yes," replied the judge, "I was with you in the Mexican
War."

Hooker, saying it was a pleasure to thus meet old com-
rades, asked the judge to take a glass of wine with him.
The judge took the proffered glass and, raising it, said:

"General Hooker, accept this toast, for it is probably
the last I may be called upon to give to you:

"I drink to the health of General Hooker, the only
American general who ever fought above the clouds."

After a moment's silence the general said: "I don't
think I shall ever be so near heaven again as I was on
that occasion."

Judge Coombs's reference, of course, was to the Battle
of Lookout Mountain in the Civil War.

The hard times following the misfortunes of the change
of ownership of the railroad, with attending removal of
repair shops, etc., and the wholesale discharge of na\^
yard workmen, had a disastrous effect upon the business
men of Vallejo. There were not a few failures. Some
shut up shop and moved away, and those who remained
barely existed for some time. A factor contributing to
the continuation of the "hard times" was the policy of
the government in reducing expenditures at the navy
yard. After the big discharge of workmen in the early
seventies, the navy department kept reducing the force
until the average number of workmen employed in the
yard for 1876 was only 330. The smallest number in
any one month w^as 190 men, and the largest 690, which
9^2

Political and Other Incidents

was about half the number employed in the years of
"prosperity."

In 1877 I reduced the size of the newspaper and cur-
tailed expenses in every possible manner. 1 can not
recall just how long this period of business depression
continued, but after six or eight years property values
reached a very low mark. A great many people who had
bought lots in the new parts of town refused to pay the
taxes levied upon them and they were sold by the authori-
ties for the benefit of the county and city. It was some
time in 1878 or 1879 that I was in San Francisco one day
and called upon my friend Colonel Jackson, when he
presented me with a deed to all his real estate interests
in Vallejo. I asked him what he wanted me to do with
the property, as I could not fathom his purpose. He
replied by saying that he was tired of paying taxes on
the property and that so far as he was concerned, I could
do anything with it that pleased me, as he was done with
it. The property conveyed consisted of an undivided
interest in some acreage property near the city limits
and some fifty or more city lots. Upon my return home
I went to E. J. Wilson, who was buying all property at
tax sales or which was being sold at similar prices, and
arranged to sell him all the city lots at a ridiculously low
figure, something like $^0 apiece, as I remember. The
acreage property was under the control of Mr. Wilson,
although there were several individuals who owned undi-
vided interests in it, two or three of whom were non-resi-
dents. I told Mr. Wilson that I wanted a division of this
property, at least so far as the interest I held was con-
cerned. Mr. Wilson was willing, but said that there
might be some objection on the part of other owners. I
announced that under such circumstances I could apply
to the courts and obtain an order for a division and
segregation of my interests. In the course of a few days
Mr. Wilson mapped out a line of procedure by which

— 213 —

Recollections of a Newspaprnnan

we could reach the desired result and w liicli I was plcasc^d
to accept. We deteriiiiiu'd the anioiinl of land due me
to end)race some fifty acres, and we also agreed that it
should be taken from the northeastern corner of the tract.
We had the piece of land surveyed and prepared the
papers for the signatures of the other owners to com-
plete the transaction. It was a comparatively easy matter
to secure the signatures of owners living in California,
but I was put to some trouble and expense in obtaining
the signatures of the non-residents, especially where one
owner, a Mr. Ruelofson, had died and his heirs had taken
up their residence in Paris. Fortunately the estate had
enough other property in California to warrant the
employment of an attorney to look after its interests.
After locating this attorney in Sacramento and laying the
matter before him and patiently waiting a few months,
I finally received the signatures for the remaining inter-
ests. The attorney charged me for his fees and expenses
$500. I now had my land in shape to dispose of and soon
found a customer who paid me somewhere in the neigh-
borhood of $3000 for it. I think that after all expenses
were deducted, I had about $5000 as the proceeds of sale
of the lots and acreage. Half of this amount I took down
to San Francisco and placed on Colonel Jackson's desk.
It was the colonel's turn to ask what I meant by the offer
of the money. When I explained, he wanted me to keep
it. I insisted, however, that he had given me the property
to use as I pleased, and what I had done was not only the
proper thing for me to have done but was what I had
wanted to do. The profit that came as my share entered
into my financial affairs at a most opportune time. It
enabled me to pay off' a debt which at that time looked
large and was burdensome. For some months previous
to this transaction I would have been glad to have given
up to my creditors my newspaper and other holdings for
a discharge from my financial obligations. In truth, I did

— 2^4 —

Political and Other Incidents

make such an offer to one of my largest creditors and was
laughed at, and told that my proposition evinced a lack
of courage, a weakness not to be expected in a young
man of my standing. All this was coupled with some
good advice. This talk, from one of my best friends, was
not pleasant to hear, but it fired my spirit and stirred me
up to a determination to win out. If I had made any
reputation for business capacity, I decided then and there
it should not be impaired by any lack of zeal and energy
on my part. I know I walked away with an entirely
different feeling. Within a very few months from that
time I had paid off every dollar I owed. The tide seemed
to turn with the real estate transactions just described.

215

CHAPTER XII

LEGISLATIVE EXPERIENCES AND FARM LIFE

Nominated to Represent Solano County in the Legisla-
ture— The Campaigns — The New Constitution — The
Republican National Convention of 1880 — Life on the
Farm — Appointed Postmaster of Vallejo.

The hard work I put in on the newspaper in the preceding
twelve years, and devotion of personal labor in matters
pertaining to advancement of the general interests of the
community, together with the mental anxieties incident
to payments of notes as they became due, seriously
affected my health. Our physician gave it as his opinion
that it would be impossible for me to regain a normal
condition of health without being rid of all business
cares, advising that I sell the newspaper and go to the
country and live an outdoor life for several months.
Knowing your mother was worrying over my condition, I
acted on the advice of the doctor and disposed of the
Chronicle and its business. In March, 1879, 1 sold to Thos.
Wendell, a young man who had been employed in the
editorial work of the paper for several years. He was an
exceptionally bright man and a born journalist. He died
suddenly a year or so after his purchase had been made,
and in the settlement of his estate the paper fell into the
hands of some ambitious young men of Yallejo who had
but little experience in newspaper work.

Now, free from all care, your mother and 1 thought it
would be pleasant to locate for the summer at or near
Aetna Springs, Napa County, so I engaged a cottage near
the springs grounds. The building had been constructed

— 216 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

by some settler in years gone by, before there was any
thought of the springs being made a place of resort or
recreation. There were three or four rooms somewhat
roughly constructed, but with the wagonload of house-
hold fixtures I had sent there we were soon very com-
fortably established. We brought a house maid with us,
as the care of you boys, especially Ed, who was just
learning to walk, gave your mother enough to do without
having the labor of cooking and attending to other work.
We certainly enjoyed the life there. It was in the month
of April when we arrived, and all nature was in its glory\
The attraction of the springs brought enough people to
keep us from being lonesome, even if we had been so
inclined. There were a couple of trout streams within
walking distance which gave me frequent occupation.
Game of various kinds was also plentiful. On several
occasions I shot rabbits, quail, and wild pigeons from the
door yard. My health began to mend at once, and within
a few weeks I was able to tramp all over the surrounding
hills with little effort. I kept a horse and buggy there,
which enabled us to vary our pleasure trips b}' going to
more distant places. Our stay at Aetna was made
more pleasant by the visit of your grandfather and
grandmother Powell, with the three girls, your aunts. It
was my purpose to remain at Aetna all summer, not
returning home until fall, and then to make a trip to the
Eastern states, but politics interfered with the plan, as
will be seen. It was during the summer when, reading
a paper giving an account of the proceedings of the
Republican county convention of Solano, I was surprised
to see that I had been chosen as a nominee on the Repub-
lican ticket for the Legislature. As I had no ambition or
thought leading in this direction, my astonishment can
well be imagined. In the course of a few days I received
a formal notice of the action of the convention, with a
request to meet with the county committee. I made the

— 217 —

liccollrclioiis of a Ncivspapcrinan

Irij) home for tliis |)ur|)(),sc, which I toiind to he iiolhiii.^
nion- or less lh;ni a inciting to arrunj^c lor a canipaij^n
plan Ihroughonl the county, providing speakers from
among the candidates, I being booked to make a speech
in all the towns and voting centers, I remonstrated,
informing the committee that I had never attempted to
make a formal speech in my life, and insisted that the
committee put somebody else in my place on the ticket.
It was decided that it would not do to make a change, and
my proposition was rejected. It was with feelings of
misgivings as to the outcome that I yielded to the wishes
of my friends and consented to stand for the nomination.
The memory of that Sunday school exhibition fiasco still
clung to me and made the chills run up and down my
back when I thought of trying to make a set speech. As
the political meetings were to begin within a short time, I
returned to Aetna and brought the folks home to Vallejo.
The election on the adoption of the new constitution had
just been held. The campaign had been waged with
extreme bitterness of feeling on both sides — those for and
against its adoption. The voters of the country districts
largely favored its adoption, while the cities furnished the
greatest number of opponents. Being away in the
country during all the contest, I escaped being drawn into
the campaign, or imbibing any of the bitterness of feeling
so commonly manifested by the partisans, pro and con.
The feature of the new constitution responsible for the
trouble between the two sections of the state was the
provision whereby mortgages were to be taxed. In
making assessments of property, the assessors were to
deduct from the value of property assessed to an owner
any mortgage, and assess that mortgage to the holder
thereof. In some way the people of the country obtained
the idea that this provision, if adopted, would be a great
relief to them in equalizing the burden of taxes, and that
the plan was opposed by the cities because that was where

— ^18 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

the money lenders on mortgages lived. Whether or not
the opposition to the adoption of the new constitution
originated with the lenders of money, considerable money
was raised and expended in the interest of the opponents,
and it was largely due to the character of the fight made
by that side that so much ill-feeling was engendered.

Being at Aetna on the day of election, I could not vote.
If I had been able to cast a vote I should have voted
against adoption, but not on account of the mortgage
provision, for I did not think the proposed change in
taxation would shift the burden or equalize it to the extent
expected, as the lender of money is usually the man who
dictates the terms. In making a loan under the new
order he would charge a greater rate of interest — a suf-
ficient increase to make up for any addition to the amount
of taxes required from him. I was opposed to the adop-
tion, probably on account of my conservatism. I thought
the new constitution was too radical in several matters.
At the election it was adopted by a good majority. The
feeling aroused in this contest entered largely into the
campaign for choosing state and county officers that
immediately followed, and I have explained the situation
with the idea of giving you a better understanding of how
I suffered from this enmity early in mj'^ campaign.

The programme arranged for public meetings by the
county committee called for the first meeting to be held
in Vallejo, consequently here was where I was to make
my maiden speech. The other meetings were to be held
in the various towns of the county. The meeting in
Vallejo was made quite an event, as it was the opening of
the campaign. The Farragut Theater was engaged for
the occasion and was filled to its utmost capacity with an
enthusiastic audience. When I stepped out upon the
stage to make my address I found a very friendly greeting.
I was trembling with nervousness and embarrassment.
I suppose I was personally acquainted with nine-tenths

— 219 —

liccollcclioiis of (I Nrivspapcrnuin

of the people there, iind could have called nearly every
one, if not all, by name, and their kindly consideration
was so nianifcsl liial I (jiiiekly shared the excite-
ment of the j^reclin^ and heeanie as cool and self-
poss(>ssed as could he wished for. lioth political parties,
in their platforms, pledged their candichites to upiiold the
new constitution in letter and spirit. The new constitu-
tion was the main issue of the campaign. The advocates
of the new fundamental law did not j)ropose to lose the
fruits of their victory in allowing enemies to be elected
to positions where its purposes and reforms could be
hampered or annulled. P'or this reason, the candidates,
especially those up for the legislative positions, gave much
attention to this subject in their speeches. The matter
was made more difficult for those candidates who had
been identified with the side opposed to the adoption.
In my address I said I wanted to be frank with the people
and I wanted them to understand my position; that, while
I had been away, removed from the influences and bitter-
ness of the new constitirtion campaign, and did not vote
one way or the other, had I been home on that election
day I would have voted against the adoption. However,
when the people decided, by their votes, to adopt the new
law, I felt it a bounden duty, if I should be elected to the
Legislature, to do all in my power to sustain the letter and
spirit of the new constitution with as much loyalty and
sincerity of purpose as if I had been a partisan on the
other side. I went into the subject at considerable length.
My declaration and pledge of good faith were received
with applause, and when I had finished my speech and
received the congratulations of my friends on the stage
I felt I had scored a success, and was somewhat elated. I
now looked upon the remainder of the meetings in an
altogether different light; but pride is bound to have its
fall, and there was no exception in my case, as you will see.
The little town of Vacaville was the next place desig-

— 220 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

nated for a meeting. When we candidates, billed to
make the speeches, arrived there a day or so after the
Vallejo meeting, we found, to our huge disgust, that the
posters advertising the meeting had not been put up or
any arrangements made whatever. The candidates at
once concluded to abandon the idea of holding a meeting
and to move on to the next appointed place. The few
Republicans in Vacaville said that such action on our part
would be mortifying to them and would mean a loss of
votes to the ticket on election day, assuring us that they
could get up a crowd to hear us speak, even if the time
was short. These arguments caused us to change our
minds and consent to the arrangement. That afternoon
the local party men busied themselves in drumming up a
crowd for the evening. When the time came for the
speaking, about thirty people had assembled in the hall to
hear our arguments. The meeting was called to order by
a local chairman. I was the second or third speaker on
the list, and when it came my turn, I was in no frame of
mind to make a formal speech to that handful of unsym-
pathetic farmers. All the conceit that had come to me,
because of my apparent success at the Vallejo meeting,
had by this time completely evaporated. I went along
with my address in a mechanical way, giving facts and
making declarations of principles that were received in
Vallejo with enthusiasm, but fell here with unresponsive
coldness, much as if dropped into a refrigerator. When
I began to discuss the new constitution, one by one my
audience began to disappear through a side door. In
telling the story on me, my associates said that when I
made the declaration that I had been opposed to the new
constitution, I emptied the hall of all but one man, and
that when I extended my hand to him, thanking him for
his loyalty, he interrupted me by saying that he was only
waiting to collect the hall rent. Well, it was not quite
as bad as that, but it was sufficient to give my egotism a

221

lircollrclioii.s of a Newspaperman

frightful shock. I vvi'iit through with the incctings at the
other phiccs with nil souse of my or;itoric;iI aliility sub-
dued, hut not without some prodt from the experience at
Vacavillc.

A. B. Nye, with his paper at Dixon. .Joseph McKenna,
now one of the Supreme .Judges of the I'nited States, Mr.
DinJcelspicl, and I^. D. Ilohluns of Suisun, rendered me
great service in the campaign. Without their aid. it is
doul)tful if J coukl have overcome the prejudice against
me arising from my opposition to the adoption of the
new constitution. These men were warm, loyal friends,
and of great influence in the northern part of the country
where I was politically weak.

When the election came off I was elected by a sub-
stantial majority of the votes. The new constitution
necessitated considerable legislation in the enactment of
new laws and the amendment of old statutes to make its
provisions effective, and, knowing that an immense
amount of work was entailed upon the coming session, I
decided to go to Sacramento a month ahead of the opening
of the session and familiarize myself with the work to be
done. Governor Perkins had wisely appointed a commis-
sion of three attorneys to prepare bills covering all the
requirements of the new constitution. I attended the ses-
sions of the commissioners, heard their discussions, and
in this way obtained a very clear understanding of some
of the most important legislation required. Without the
work done by them, it would have been impossible for
the ensuing session of the Legislature to have covered the
changes made necessary by the adoption of the new con-
stitution. Of course, the bills prepared by the commission
went through the legislative mill in the same manner and
with the same consideration as measures presented by
members. However, some of the commission bills were
side-tracked by bills offered in substitution by members
of the House and Senate.
— 222 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

When we decided to go early to Sacramento, we con-
cluded our stay would be so long that it would be better
for us to "keep house" than to board. We rented a fur-
nished house quite near the Capitol building from a Mrs.
Mansfield, a widow, whose husband had been State Con-
troller. It gave us a very pleasant and comfortable situa-
tion.

In the organization of the House committees I was given
a position on the Committee of Ways and Means and
made chairman of the Fish and Game Committee. It
was soon made apparent, after the Legislature began its
work, by the influence being brought to bear upon the
members, that every possible effort would be exerted to
make ineffective or nullify the provisions of the new con-
stitution, relative to revenue and taxation, which had
been the great issue in the question of its adoption, and
which the members had been pledged to sustain by their
party platforms. In short, it was a question whether the
Legislature would enact laws in accordance with the letter
and spirit of the new constitution, or evade the require-
ments by passing bills intended to defeat the reforms.
Immediately upon development of the situation, all
interest centered upon Bill 404, which was the commission
bill providing the changes in the revenue and tax laws
required in the new constitution. So important was the
matter that the Senate and House committees sat in joint
session to consider it. The joint committee, or some sub-
committee of the same, met daily, working on the
measure, listening to the arguments of outsiders inter-
ested for and against it, and investigating and discussing
the laws of other states on revenue. For over four weeks
this work was kept up. During that time I was a close
attendant at the committee meetings, and never worked
harder and took so little time for meals and sleep. I
searched the libraries for everything on the subject of
taxation. I think I must have scanned everything pub-

— 223 —

liccollcclions of <t ^^ ruysj)<ij)rni\<tii

lislud up lo tliijl lime in the riiilcd Sinks relating to the
mailer — certainly everylliin^ by well known aulhorilies.
Apparently a decided iiiajority of the joint eoniinittee
was favorable lo reeoniinendinf^ for i)assage a hill Ihal
would be consislenl wilh the provisions of the new con-
stitution. A minority under the leadership of a Doctor
May (a San Francisco member of the House) were con-
tinually offering, or arguing for adoption, features for the
bill that would circumvent the tax reform sections of the
new fundamental hnv. The majority finally announced
that they were prepared to report the bill to the Senate
and House for enactment. A canvass of the members of
the joint committee present at that meeting showed a clear
majority favorable to recommendation of the bill framed.
The minority asked as a matter of courtesy that the date
of recommendation and report of bill be postponed until
the next evening. The majority, confident of the loyalty
of the members to their side, granted the request; but
great was their chagrin and disappointment at that
meeting when, through the absence of some members and
a complete change in the attitude of two or three others,
the "majority" found themselves in the minority. The
bill with the evading features was voted to be the choice of
the "majority" of the joint committee, and a report was
framed recommending its passage. No public scandal
came from this action, but the corrupt means to bring it
about was common talk among members of the Legis-
lature.

After being out-voted, our side met and framed a minor-
ity report recommending our bill for passage, and con-
demning the measure presented by the other members of
the committee as inconsistent with the requirements of
the new constitution. I was chosen to present the minor-
ity report in the House. Of course this action made it
necessary for me not only to advocate and point out the
merits of our bill on the floor of the House, but to defend

— 22fy —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

it from attacks by the other side. While I was given the
leadership of the fight for the adoption of the minority
report, I was supported by some of the ablest men in the
House. Doctor May, chairman of the Committee of Ways
and Means, was the spokesman for the "majority" side.
The motion that was to decide which report the House
should adopt was made a special order for a certain after-
noon. When that time came, the galleries, lobby, and all
places for visitors were filled by spectators, for the pledge
of the Republican party was at stake, as well as the will
of the people. Was all the work given in securing a new
constitution and having it adopted by a decided vote of
the people of the state going to be negatived finally by
legislation planned for that purpose? Well, things
seemed, for a time, to be drifting that way. I remember
Doctor May, House leader of the other side, came over to
my seat just before the final debate began, complimented
me on the attention I had given the subject, and expressed
great sympathy for me that nothing should come of my
efforts, speaking as if he were certain of our defeat and
his victory.

Doctor May opened the debate, speaking in his usual
forceful way. Chancellor Hartson made a strong speech
in reply. There were some other briefer speeches and it
was left to me to close the discussion. I was feeling well
wrought up by this time and fitted in mind and spirit to
do my part. I spoke for fully an hour with great earnest-
ness, especially so when I found that I had won the atten-
tion of my hearers, and I began to feel the exhilaration of
the thought of possible victory. Even the opposition
show^ed me the respect of close attention. When 1 had
finished and sat down, there quickly gathered around my
desk members and others privileged to the floor to con-
gratulate me. It only remained now to call the roll. The
minority report was adopted by a vote of sixty to fifteen.
Our victory was complete.

— 225 —

Recollections of a Newspaperinan

Till' bill rcporlfd by Hit' iiiiiiorily, in due course oi'
lime, becjimc the law of Hie stale. It is probably needless
to say that the wlnninf^ of Ibis flgbt was a source of great
salisfaclion to me. It was so in a double sense for, in
addition to the graliOcation to my personal j)ride in being
a factor in winning* a contest of this importance, there was
the greater satislaelion that right had prevailed in face of
the opposition directed and backed by tremendous influ-
ences.

The Republican party had redeemed its pledge to sus-
tain the new constitution in the enactment of the revenue
bill and other measures to enforce its provisions. The
calamitous results predicted by the opponents were never
realized. Capital was not driven from the state, and
business affairs of the various communities progressed
apparently uninfluenced, one way or the other; neither
were the taxes or interest increased, as was predicted
would be the case, by lenders adding taxes, which they
were now compelled to pay, to the rates of interest pre-
vailing before the adoption of the new law.

It is more than possible that the law of supply and
demand was, to a great degree, the controlling influence
in adjusting the rate of interest after the Legislature had
completed its work. For the ten years or more previous
there had been a continuous and gradual decrease in the
average rate of interest charged to borrowers of money — a
change which naturally follows the process of settlement
of all new countries. In 1870, the rate of 12 per cent per
annum was commonly exacted on mortgage loans, and
18 per cent on short time loans was not considered exces-
sive, and these were lower rates than had prevailed in the
previous decade. By the time the laws of the new consti-
tution became effective, the rates on mortgage loans aver-
aged about 8 or 9 per cent. The force of this downward
tendency of interest rates was probably sufficiently strong,
with the aid of the stringent laws enacted, to overcome

— 226 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

any attempt to increase them by adding the amount of
taxes lenders had to pay on their mortgages. It is certain
the new revenue and tax laws greatly aided in making a
more equable distribution of the burden of taxes, and in
acknowledging this much, there was a satisfactory return
for all the work and expenditures of time and money in
adopting a new constitution.

Up to this time in the history of our state scarcely any
laws had been enacted regulating banking business. The
necessity of laws protecting the interests of depositors and
stockholders, etc., similar to the statutes existing in nearly
every other state in the Union, was clearly apparent to
every one who gave the subject any consideration. A bill
to remedy the situation in California was introduced, and
was before the House with a committee indorsement for
passage. The same element which opposed the revenue
bill fought the banking measure. I had given the subject
considerable attention and made a short speech in behalf
of the bill. It was near the close of the session, and a
time limit had been placed on the length of speeches.
The fight was sharp and short, but resulted in another
victory for reasonable reform. It was on these two occa-
sions only that I attempted to occupy the floor for any
considerable length of time during the session.

This session of the Legislature was marked by turbu-
lence of an extraordinary character. There was scarcely
a day in which some disorder did not occur, the blame for
which was clearly traceable to the peculiar character of
two members: Geo. W. Tyler, a Republican from Ala-
meda County, and S. Braunhart, a "sandlotter." I mean
this latter in no disrespectful sense, for there were some
good men sent from the sandlots in San Francisco.
Braunhart was an exceptionally bright and able man.
Tyler was a most aggressive person. He was a large man
with a big voice, was excitable, and possessed an irascible
temper, and was frequently likened to a "bull in a china

— 227 —

liciutllcctioti.s of (I NciiKspaprnnan

slioj)." He scMoiii .s|)()kc in iiiodcr.ilc lone. His ronriiif^
voice aiui iiiciuuin^ m.imicr were a constant sonrcc of
irritation to a majority of tlic nicnihcis, and wliat made
coiulilioiis worse was that Mr. 'lyltr seemed to think it
was incumbent upon hiu) to speak upon nearly every
question before the House. With all his rough exterior
his sympathies were easily touched and he possessed (jual-
ities that made strong friendships, and was not wiliioul
followers. It is with his other characteristics that 1 have
to deal. The particular object of his dislike was Hraun-
hart, the sandlot representative. The latter was a voluble
talker, who was also quite offensive, and aggressive in
speech and manner. He was often on his feet, and the
shafts of his sarcasm were more frequently directed at
the member from Alameda. These two men were so
frequently engaged in unbecoming controversies that a
common saying by the Speaker was, "Here we go again!"
at each outbreak, and the members were becoming impa-
tient with the interruptions. The seats of the two men
were near to each other and located just across the aisle
from my desk, where I was an unwilling listener to
occasional verbal passages between them on matters of
personal or private nature. One morning one of these
private discussions led to an unusually violent outbreak.
Apparently, to the majority of the members, Mr. Braun-
hart had started the disturbance. It was of such a char-
acter that the House was compelled to maintain its dignity
and self-respect and take notice of it. Mr. Braunhart was
called before the bar of the House and a motion was
made for his expulsion. Upon roll call the Republicans
were all voting in the atrn-mative until my name was
reached, when I voted "no." I had heard the beginning
of the rumpus and knew that Tyler was the aggressor,
and I felt that Braunhart was being unfairly treated.
With the announcement of my vote, some of the members
who had voted "aye" changed their votes, and the motion

— 228 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

for expulsion failed. At this or some other time (1 forget
which) Braunhart was denied the right to address the
House for three days. On another occasion Tyler refused
to take his seat when ordered to do so by the Speaker.
He was ordered under arrest, brought before the bar and
punished, by order of the House, in being denied the right
to speak for two days. Along toward the latter part of
the session, when Tyler was in the chair one day for a
short time, he seized upon a slight provocation to order
the arrest of Braunhart, who was dismissed on motion of
the House, upon being brought before the bar. Then,
upon resolution, Tyler was called from the chair and
brought before the bar, charged with misuse of authority
in ordering the arrest of Braunhart. It looked a little
serious for the gentleman from Alameda, but when he
addressed the House in his own behalf, making a manly
and candid statement and apology for his action, he was
released by a vote of the House.

The "sandlot" members referred to came from San
Francisco, and their election to the Legislature was an
outcome of the political agitation begun by Denis Kearney,
who held his meetings in the open air on what was called
the sand lots in the neighborhood of the citj'^ hall.
Kearney was a workingman, with a remarkable gift of
speech, coupled with the energy of a steam engine. He
was possessed with the idea that he had a mission here,
and that was, especially, to drive the Chinese out of the
state, and in general to reform the political organizations
and social conditions of at least San Francisco. For a
time he certainly exhibited a wonderful influence on the
platform when addressing the crowds that gathered to
hear him. His tirades were particularly directed against
the presence of Chinamen in California, and incidentally
against corporate powers, complaining of unjust use of
wealth and unfair treatment of the working classes. He
did not off'er himself as a candidate for public office,

— 229 —

HeroUcrlious of d Ncwspaprrii^dii

si'iinin^ lo pri IVr Ixiii^ ";i |)()\ver behind llic throne."
However, after a year or two his power and inlliience
over the men who had flocked to his standard Ix'^an to
wane, and that was (he end of him as a factor in i)oMlics.
The men sent to the Legislature as one of the results of
Kearney's agitation were, with few exceptions, capable
and of excellent character, incorruptible and most loyal
to their sense of duty.

The Legislature was unable, in the limit of time fixed
by the constitution, to enact all the legislation required of
it. The Governor called an extra session after a recess of
a few weeks.

It was now approaching summer of the year 1880, and
the Presidential campaign was on! The sentiment of the
Republicans of California was largely in behalf of James
G. Blaine of Maine. The name of General Grant was also
before the country for President. Grant had not become
unpopular with our people as a man and soldier, but the
idea of making him President for the third term was dis-
tasteful to a great many people, especially as his candi-
dacy was being urged most strongly by the machine
politicians of the country. The friends of Grant made very
poor showing in the primaries, so when the Republican
state convention assembled at Sacramento, the Blaine
men had things all their own way. Strong resolutions
indorsing the candidacy of Blaine men were adopted, and
the delegates chosen to go to the national convention were
pledged in the strongest possible manner to vote for
Blaine, and Blaine only. I was elected as an alternate
delegate to the convention, and took the pledge to vote
for the Maine candidate, the same as the other delegates.

Ever since I had sold my newspaper business it had
been my intention, as soon as I was physically able, to
make a visit to the Eastern states, taking all the family.
I was very proud of your mother and you boys, and I
wanted the relatives on both sides of our family to see you.

— 230 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

When it was learned that I would be an attendant at
the Chicago national convention, the California Asso-
ciated Press agent made arrangements with me to look
out for such matters in the convention as were of state
interest, and report the same by telegraph.

We landed in Chicago a day or so prior to the assem-
bling of the convention, and secured a stopping place near
the lake front in a residential part of the city. The con-
vention of 1880 is the only national convention I ever
attended, and I was always exceedingly pleased that 1
had the opportunity of attending this particular conclave
of the Republican party. In surprises, brilliancy of
speeches, enthusiasm, and general interest, it has never
been excelled in the history of the Republican party.

The national convention of 1880 was noted for the
number of great men of the country who were present as
delegates, and the debates and proceedings were made
more interesting by reason of all of these men taking
active part in the transactions. I can recall seeing there
Garfield and Harrison, both of whom were subsequently
elected to the presidency of the United States. Conkling,
the great Senator from New York, was about the most con-
spicuous member of the convention. He was a man of
commanding appearance and great dignity of manner.
Standing near me one day in the convention, I heard him
say that, if the Lord would forgive him for his attend-
ance there this time, he would never attend another con-
vention. Perhaps, if he had been successful in his mission
to Chicago and had secured the nomination of General
Grant, he would have regarded his attendance at the con-
vention in an altogether different light. General John A.
Logan, the famous soldier and politician, was also there
as an active member of the convention. The two forceful
United States Senators from Maine — Hale and Fr^'^e —
were most active in their support of the candidacy of
Blaine. W. E. Curtis, the famous editor, of New York,

— 231 —

HccoUi'clioiis of a Nrivspaprrmdii

\v;is :i (IcIc^mIc rrom lii.-it sl;ilc. Ilo.ir-, llic f^rcjit Massa-
chiisells ScMialor, was cliairman of the convention. There
were a nnniher of other great men of that day in attend-
ance. It seemed as if the Hepuhhcans of every state had
made a special cllort to seiul their ixst and most gifted
men to the convention. The Cahfornia (hlegation had
Frank Pixley as its sliining hght. He was known on the
Pacific Coast as a most brilliant speaker, and in recogni-
tion of the activities of the California delegation in helialf
of Blaine, the managers of his canii)aign accorded Mr.
Pixley the honor and privilege of placing the name of
Blaine before the convention and making the nominating
speech. The Californians were elated at being thus hon-
ored, but their pleasure was of short duration. Mr.
Pixley probably had never spoken in a great building like
that where, to make oneself heard and understood, every
word delivered must be articulated deliberately and time
given for the sound of each word to reach the further-
most parts of the big building separately and distinctly.
Either he did not understand this or was laboring under
embarrassment disqualifying hiin for the task. His
appearance on the platform was the signal for a tremen-
dous outburst of enthusiasm on the part of the Blaine men.
When he w^as presented to begin his speech the utmost
quiet prevailed, for there was great curiosity to hear the
Californian. To our great mortification and disappoint-
ment, Mr. Pixley spoke so rapidly that at a distance of fifty
or sixty feet from where he stood the words he uttered
lost all individuality and became just a jumble of sound.
The convention stood it for a few moments, then mani-
fested its impatience by noise and confusion, so nothing
could be heard of the speech. We could only see Pixley
waving his arms as if in pantomime. This was before the
day of the invention and use of the "hook," but some-
thing of the kind was badly needed then. T never knew
just how the managers on the platform disposed of the

— 232 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

unpleasant situation, or whether Mr. Pixley relieved it by
his own act or not. However, Eugene Hale rushed to the
front of the platform and gave a most remarkable exhibi-
tion of the influence and power of speech, when used by
one experienced and capable in oratory. In a few seconds
he stilled that great turbulent mass of delegates and spec-
tators and proceeded to make a most impassioned and
impressive speech in advocacy of the nomination of
Blaine. It was one of the dramatic features of the con-
vention's deliberations. By his presence of mind, skill,
courage, and great ability as an orator, he had quickly
converted what promised to be a fiasco, in placing the
name of Blaine before the convention, into an incident of
tremendous enthusiasm and satisfaction to the supporters
of the candidate from the Pine Tree state.

The naming of U. S. Grant as a candidate and the
speech made in that connection by Roscoe Conkling were
other most interesting incidents of the convention. He
first stood up at his seat on the floor of the convention,
but as the delegates and vast assemblage divined his
purpose, cries of "higher," higher!" from all over the
great hall drowned all effort on his part to speak. He
then stood up on his chair, but that did not satisfy the
audience, and the clamor for a more conspicuous position
was unceasing until he went to the reporters' platform
and finally stood up on the reporters' table, a huge affair
located directly in front of the main platform of the hall.
He was now in the most conspicuous place and looked a
physical giant for, with fine figure and neatness of dress,
his appearance was most pleasing. The speech he made
was the greatest effort in oratory that it has ever been my
fortune to listen to. Time and time again he was inter-
rupted by explosions of applause and tremendous cheering
which fairly shook the building. Delegates and spectators,
men and women, rose to their feet waving flags and hand-
kerchiefs, and yelled themselves hoarse. During these

— 233 —

JirroUcriions of <i Nrivsjxijx'iiiKiii

periods of inlcrriiplion he would slaiid cnlinly wjiiliiif^ lor
an opporliinily to proceed or lo coolly consult his notes,
which, when speakinf^, he carried in the outside breast
j)ockel of his cutaway coal. The enthusiasm he aroused
was not confined lo supporters of Grant, hut nearly every
human beini» in that great building fell uFider the won-
derful magic of his voice and words. He seemed to know
that he was in full command of that vast assemblage and
could sway them at will, in all but voting for his candi-
date. The people loved Grant but were afraid to make
him President for the third term.

There were many other interesting situations and inci-
dents during the sessions of the convention, but the two
events here related are those which made the most lasting
impressions on my memory.

Neither Grant nor Blaine had enough votes to secure
the nomination and, after balloting a couple of days more,
demonstrating that fact, the delegates turned to Garfield
and nominated him. As stated before, Garfield was a
delegate. He was there urging the candidacy of John
Sherman of Ohio. He was a man of commanding figure,
and his pleasant manners gave him a popularity in the
convention that attracted general attention. Wherever
he was, either on or off the platform, he was always sur-
rounded by a number of individuals seemingly attracted
to him by his personality. I remember that, early in the
session, I made the prophecy that Garfield would be the
most prominent candidate in the next Republican con-
vention, little thinking that he would be the choice of the
one in session at that time.

At the convention I met Governor Hale, who was a dele-
gate from New^ Hampshire. He was a friend whose
acquaintance T had made several years previous, and who
had such a fright while visiting the St. John mine near
Vallejo. We had a very pleasant visit. It was the last
time I ever saw him, for not verj' long after that he died.

— 234 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

After the close of the convention and a few days' visit
with my aunt, we left for Auburn, New York, my birth-
place and the home of my grandmother. We remained
there over four days, with great enjoyment. My grand-
mother was greatly pleased to have us all about her, and
was particularly interested in you, her great-grandchil-
dren. An incident occurred here that aroused my sym-
pathy and caused me to regret that I was not a rich man.
A cousin of my father had been conducting quite a large
jewelry store in Auburn for many years, I went to the
store to call on him and found the sheriff in the act of
levying an attachment on the place. A series of misfor-
tunes had combined to throw him into a debt that finally
brought this disaster. I could only express my sorrow at
his misfortune and regret my inability to help him out of
his difficulty. He eventually became re-established in
business there. From Auburn we went to Brooklyn,
Rondout, N. Y., Philadelphia, and Washington, visiting
relatives in all those places. Having some business mat-
ters to attend to in New York, we remained in the city a
few weeks. The weather was extremely hot during the
greater portion of the time. I remember finding the ther-
mometer one night at one o'clock registering in the nine-
ties. The heat was affecting the health of you boys, so
we left the city. After going down to Norfolk, Va., to
attend to a business affair for a Vallejo friend, we
returned to our home in California. During our stay
in Norfolk of nearly a week I made some very agree-
able acquaintances. I remember one gentleman in par-
ticular, proprietor of one of the large business houses
there, who had taken considerable interest in politics.
He talked very freely with me about the political condi-
tions in the Southern states. He told me how they had
recovered control of the elective offices. His description
of how the Republican Congressman was replaced by a
Democrat was particularly interesting to me at that time.

— 235 —

liccollcclions of <t Nru)sp(i/>rrn}an

lie said lli.il llic while clcmciil dclt iiniiicd it would elect
a Democral. It was lirsi necessary to gel control of the
election machinery, and when Ihey had done that much,
they would put the control ol all the election precincts
into the hands of Democrats. They figured out how
many voles would he retjuired to give; their candidate for
Congress a majority over Ihe Hepuhlican candidate. This
vote was apportioned lo the various precincts, with
instructions to the oflicers to return that nund)er of votes
for the Democratic candidate, regardless of the nundur
cast, which they knew, or expected to he, considerahly
less. When election day came and the voles were
counted, all of the precinct officers hut two or three failed,
through timidity, in carrying out the programme, and re-
ported only the actual number of votes cast. The returns
showed the Democrat to be behind. The managers in
Norfolk then sent out messengers to the precincts, which
had responded as requested, to increase the vote for the
Democratic candidate. Then came in messages from
these officials, that the revised returns from the precincts
showed such and such increase of votes for the Democrat.
Still the total w^as short of a majority, and messengers
were again despatched to the accommodating election
officials to further revise the returns and increase the vote
for the Democrat. Some of the officials became alarmed
at the boldness of the operations and refused, but other
officials kept responding wuth the "revised" and "re-
revised" returns, until the desired number of votes were
certified to declare the Democratic candidate to Congress
elected. My friend admitted that this storj' did not sound
very good morally, but contended that the best element of
the community considered that the end justified the
means. They felt that the best interests of society and
protection of property warranted their going to any
extreme in wresting the political power away from the
negroes and "carpetbaggers."

— 236 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

One afternoon a number of gentlemen were sitting in
the shade on the porch of the hotel and a great many
"darkies" — laboring men— were stringing along the street,
apparently on their way home from work. It was water-
melon time, and many of the negroes were carrying
melons. One of the gentlemen on the porch spoke up and
said : "Just to liven up the crowd. 1 will make a bet of the
drinks for all hands here that each of the first twelve
negroes coming around that corner will have a watermelon
under his arm." The challenge was promptly accepted
and the count began : "One! Two! Three!" and so on, up
to about the ninth consecutive man with a melon, when
every man on the porch was seized with interest in
the outcome and was on his feet craning his neck in
excited suspense, tallying the melon-laden darkies as they
came around the corner at intervals of a minute or so
apart. "Ten! Eleven!" — only one more. Would the
challenger win? All were fairly holding their breath
watching for the twelfth man. When he came he had a
melon, and with a shout of satisfaction the porch crowd
retired to the club room of the hotel to drink at the
expense of the loser.

Our return to California was unmarked by any inci-
dents. One of the first men I met after my arrival in
Vallejo was S. C. Farnham, a wealthy citizen of the place,
who had loaned the money to the young men who had
purchased my paper, and who had made a failure of their
undertaking. Mr. Farnham had been compelled to take
the property into his own hands in satisfaction of the
debt. He begged me to take charge of the paper and see
if I could not restore its business and make it a pajang
concern again. I called his attention to the fact that my
only reason for disposing of the property was on account
of my health and, besides, I did not like to undertake the
job of repair work. He pleaded so strongly for my aid
that I finally consented to take charge of the paper until

— 237 —

RccoUcclions of (i Ncuyspajx-riiKtn

the revenues ol llie hiisiiicss should exceed the cost of
luainlaiiiing the plant, so within a lew days I was "in the
liarness" once more, as editor and general manager of
the Vallejo Chronicle.

A j)rovisi()n of the new eonslitulion fixed the biennial
session of the Legislature in the odd years. This necessi-
tated the election of members in the fall of 1880, for the
session beginning in January, 1881. I had no thought or
intention of being a candidate for re-election, and took
no part in the caucuses or party action preliminary to
conventions. In fact, these proceedings were very nearly
over, upon my return home. Some of my political ene-
mies, or more particularly those individuals who had
unsuccessfully endeavored to change my attitude on the
new constitution legislation at the last session of the Leg-
islature, evidently thought I wanted to go back, for it soon
came to my ears that they had succeeded in forming a
. delegation that would oppose my nomination. The news
of this action quickly spread to all parts of the country,
where I had made many friends by my course in the
previous session. Justice McKenna, then an attorney at
the county seat, informed me that there was considerable
feeling in the northern part of the country over the action
of the Vallejo politicians in the matter, and said that, if I
could find one man in the Vallejo delegation who would
place my name in nomination, my friends up country'
would furnish the votes in convention to give me the re-
nomination, as a vindication of my course at Sacramento
and a rebuke to those who were attempting to punish me.
I found that my friend, D. W. Harrier, was one of the Val-
lejo delegates, and to him I explained the situation. He
quickly volunteered to nominate me. The convention was
held at Dixon. Little or nothing was being said about my
candidacy. In fact, the Vallejo delegation was so certain
of its power to make the nomination that it was divided
on the two other names, and consternation seized the Val-

— 23S —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

lejo managers when Mr. Harrier rose and placed my name
before the convention. Upon balloting, I was declared
the nominee of the convention, the country vote being cast
almost solid for me with quite a break in the Vallejo dele-
gation. The announcement was received with quite a
demonstration. This triumph over those who would
punish me for my adherence to the pledges of the party in
legislative work, and my own promises to the citizens of
Solano in the previous campaign, was a moment of
supreme satisfaction. The up-country people were elated
with the victory over what they called the "politicians" of
Vallejo, for, as a rule, in the past for some years, the
latter had dominated in nearly all convention contests.
On the other hand, the two or three men from Vallejo
responsible for the contest — in fact, for my being pro-
jected into the affair — went home grumbling and loudly
asserting that, as the countrymen had nominated me, they
would have to elect me. At the time, we all thought these
expressions were but the manifestations of disappoint-
ments of the moment and that a few days would heal the
w^ounds of defeat, as was usual in such cases. When the
campaign was on, reports began to come to me of the
activity of Mr. Farnham in opposing my election. I could
not believe the statement at first, as he seemed to be on
such friendly terms with me. I had taken his paper when
it was running him into debt, and placed it on a paying
basis, doing it as an act of friendship and accommodation
to him, for which he showed much appreciation. It seems
that his feeling of opposition to me was much deeper than
I thought it could be, from our relations. On election
day I was shown indisputable proof of his attempts to
take votes away from me. However, his efforts did not
result in any material change in the voting, but his course
gave me good reason to resign the management and care
of his paper immediately after the election, which I was
very glad to do. I held no animosity toward him. It

— 239 —

HccoUcclioiis of (I NciPsjjd/jcriiKin

wjjs his prcro^.ilivc (o oppose my election, l>ut I consid-
ered i( w;is a little loo nuuli lor hini to expect me to con-
tinue lo render him ;i vnhi.ihle service while he w;is
endeavoring to humiliate me Ix Tore the j)uhlie. Our rela-
tions WH'i'e never very cordial alter this. Helore, his dis-
like lor mc was on purely political grounds, hut now he
had a personal grievance, occasioned by my throwing the
paper back on liis hands. When I look back on the inci-
dent I can hardly blame him. He knew nothing about the
newspaper business, and the expense to him of keei)iiig it
going promised to make a hole in his fortune.

When all the returns from the election were in, except
from one small precinct, I was only a half dozen votes
ahead of my opponent on the Democratic ticket, so there
was much interest shown as to what the vote of the miss-
ing precinct should disclose. There were only about
twenty registered voters there, nearly equally divided in
party afliliation. The precinct was located in a remote
corner of the county on the Sacramento River and could
only be reached by boat. The vote of the precinct was
not know^n until the board of supervisors met to canvass
the returns several days after the election. When the
returns from the missing precinct were opened a majority
was found for my opponent, which was just sufficient
to offset the majority I held for the rest of the county,
making a tie vote. An investigation of the election held
in the precinct showed a peculiar state of affairs, which
should have caused the returns from the precinct to be
rejected by the canvassing board. That would probably
have been the course had not a vote for United States
Senator been involved, and had not the board, a majority
of whom were Democrats, been influenced by party obli-
gations. It was found that the register of voters and other
election supplies had not been sent to the precinct, but
the election otficers opened polls and received all votes
offered, making a list of those who voted. A comparison
— 240 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

of this list with the great register of voters showed that
nearly half of the persons voting were not registered, and
therefore not entitled to vote. The attention of the board
was called to this fact, but the responsibility of rejecting
the vote of an entire precinct was more than it dared to
assume. The board announced a tie vote and a new elec-
tion was ordered, which was held a few weeks later. By
this time it w^as known that the Legislature would be
largely Republican, insuring the election of a Republican
to the United States Senate, therefore many of my Demo-
cratic friends felt released from party obligations, and on
the special election day openly voted and worked for me.
I won, this time, by a majority of some 600 or 800 votes.

It was about this time that E. .T. Wilson called my atten-
tion to a ranch of 850 acres near Napa Junction that he
had for sale at a bargain. When the Vallejo Savings and
Commercial Bank failed some months previously, he
bought the remnant of securities that was left in closing
up the affairs of the bank, among which was a mortgage
of '$23,000 on the ranch spoken of, that he got at a greatly
reduced figure. He was able to settle with the owner of
the land, obtain title to it and offer the same to me for
'$18,000. It was such a bargain, and as I was free from
business cares, I at once accepted the offer and closed the
deal. At that time I had not thought of ever farming any
part of the place. It was my plan to use it for stock-
grazing, but as soon as my farmer friends living in that
vicinity learned of my purchase, they all advised me to
plant it to wheat, saying that I would make enough money
off the crop in one year to pay for the ranch, as the prop-
erty had not been cropped for several years. I concluded
these people must know more about such things than I
did, so followed their advice. This necessitated the pur-
chase of horses, plows, feed, harrows, seed, etc., besides
fitting up the house, bunk-houses, shop, hay barn and
stables. I also concluded that if I was going to farm the

— 241 —

Rccollcclioiis of a Newspaperman

place I could hcsl clo il hy l;jkinf» up our rcsidcrici' on the
ranch. I'Vank and Al»c llioiit^lil il would he f^rcal fun to
live on llie farm and ^o to llic country school on horse-
back. Ed was too youn£» to recognize any change in place
of living. Your mother was never enthusiastic over life
in the country, and while she entered into the spirit of the
new venture and was an aid to me in many ways in the
work 1 had undertaken, I never felt I was doing quite
right in putting her in a sphere of existence which she had
always looked upon as undesirable.

We moved to the ranch in the month of October, and I
soon became so interested in the work that I regretted
I had allowed myself to be drawn into politics and was a
member of the Legislature. However, I went to work
with all the energy I possessed to get the crop in, if possi-
ble, before the session began, the first Monday after Jan-
uary 1. I contracted with Mr. Brownlie, a neighbor, to
put in one large field of 200 or 300 acres, and hired all the
men and teams I could get hold of to put in the balance of
the land, but the weather conditions were against me.
There were excessive rainfalls, some of the storms lasting
more than a week at a time. During these periods (and
there were several of them) not a thing could be done,
and, what was worse, the tw^enty head or more of horses
ate up the supply of hay and grain that would have been
ample for their needs under ordinary conditions. Before
little more than half the ground was plowed, the roads
were impassable for teams and wagons, and the only way
to move an article of any size or weight under these
conditions was on a mud sled. I had a sled constructed
which was hauled with a team of strong horses. This
outfit was kept busy hauling hay and feed for the teams
from the different neiglibors who were able to share their
supply with me. From one to two bales of hay at a time
was the extent of the loads. We managed to get through,
with the aid of the sled, but the shortage of feed was the

— n2 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

cause of an unexpected outlay of money, at a time when I
could least afford it.

The time for the beginning of the session of the Legis-
lature was near at hand, and it was necessary for us to
start for Sacramento. As the roads were still impassable
for wheeled vehicles, we had to ride a distance of about
two miles down to the railroad station from the ranch on
a sled. I fixed some seats on one sled for your mother
and you boys, and put the trunks on another, and we
made the trip with ease, or but little discomfiture. The
storms had disarranged the running time of the railroad
trains, and we were compelled to wait several hours at
the station for the arrival of the train to take us on our
journey to the state capital. We had nothing to eat and
could not buy even as much as a cracker. There was
only one house at the station and the person living there
was away from hoine. We had not anticipated the delay,
hence made no provision for such contingency. How-
ever, we got away early in the afternoon, and upon arrival
at Vallejo soon found something to appease our appetites.

This time we did not attempt to keep house in Sacra-
mento, but went to board with a private family. In addi-
tion to the election of a United States Senator, the
reapportionment of the state and legislation relating to
hydraulic mining were matters most proininent before the
Legislature. General John F. Miller, a resident of Napa,
well known throughout the state, was elected United
States Senator by the Republican majority of the two
houses. The Legislature was unable to get through with
all the work it had cut out for itself, when the time limit
of the session fixed by the constitution was reached. The
appropriation bills, the apportionment, and the hydraulic
mining or debris bills were all on the list of unfinished
business when the Legislature was, by constitutional limi-
tation, compelled to adjourn. There was nothing the Gov-
ernor could do but call an extra session, naming the

— 2U —

Hccollrclions of a NewspajxTinan

mailers lo be considered and acted upon. In fixing the
<lale for the l)ef^inninf^ ol" Die extra session, sulTlcic^nl time
was allowed lo f»ive the niendxrs a few weeks' rest. It
was early in April when the extra session was convened,
and it was the middle of May when the session closed.
The hill for redistricting the state in political divisions
was a matter of f^reat importance, in a political sense, to
both the Republicans and Democrats. The former had a
majority in both liouses and it was clearly wilhin the
power of the Republican element to enact a measure to
its satisfaction, but, to the discredit of certain of the
Republicans and great chagrin of the remainder of the
members of that side of the Legislature, the advantage
was traded off to the Democrats for their support to the
renegade Republicans in killing the measure relating to
the mining debris question. The deal was engineered by
the Speaker of the House, but was never suspected until
the vote on the apportionment bill was called and the
renegades assisted the Democrats in passing an appor-
tionment measure of their own manufacture. The min-
ing debris measure was improperly before the Legislature.
It was not included in the measures stated by the Gov-
ernor in his call for the extra session, and for this reason
was overwhelmingly rejected by the vote of the House
when it came up for action. Consequently, it was very
apparent that the advantage and power of the Repub-
licans, in framing the apportionment of the state for the
ensuing ten years, had been traded off unnecessarily.
Final action on the apportionment bill was postponed
until the mining debris bill was disposed of. The feeling
toward the renegade Republicans was very bitter, though
I do not now recall that the apportionment made by the
Democrats contained any glaring or very objectionable
features.

Whenever conditions would permit of my absence from
the session of the Legislature, I would take advantage of

— 244 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

the fact and go to the ranch. On one occasion I arrived
at the ranch some little time before the noon hour, quite
unexpected by the men. When I went out in the fields
where they were supposed to be plowing, I found all the
teams idle, standing in the furrows, and the drivers lying
around on the grassy, unplowed sod, sunning themselves.
Some absurd excuses were made, but not accepted. I
found an idle team in the barn. This I ordered hitched
up to go out after dinner. The foreman wanted to know
who was going to drive it. I replied that I was — and I
did. We were plowing around quite a large hill with
single plow, so it was straight ahead work and no "land
ends" to turn at. I set the pace, and it was neces-
sary for every team to keep its place in the order in which
it started to work; that is, the man behind me could not
plow ahead of me, but he had to keep out of the way of the
man behind him, and so on back, with all the teams on the
job. At first I heard the men passing the word to crowd
me so that I would get tired and quit work. I had a fine
team and was feeling strong, myself, so did not tire as the
men expected. In a couple of hours I had gained a whole
round of the hill and was pushing the hindmost team up
on the others, and it was now my turn to crowd the pace.
There were no sun baths that afternoon, or other stops not
necessary. In fact, there was nearly as much ground
plowed that afternoon as had been plowed in any one
entire day before. I was tired when night came, and was
as glad as any of the men when the time came to unhitch
the teams from the plows for the day, but I enjoyed the
incident, as well as the labor. I made some changes, and
the work for the rest of the season went on better.

We had a very wet winter, and toward the last of the
season we had one of the heaviest rainfalls I have ever
witnessed. There was an extensive freshet in Napa Valley
about the middle of April, the flood waters reaching the
highest mark known since the valley had been settled

— 245 —

Recollections of a Newspaperman

by while men. As stated, the protracted rain storms
interfered with the ph)winf4 and see(hnf» at the ranch,
but we managed to seed about seven hundred acres,
nearly all to wheat, planting only a small field to barley.
After I got through with attendance at the Legislature
we all returned to the ranch again, and the work and
care of the place interested me intensely. The days,
weeks, and months passed more rapidly than I had ever
known before. I had a shop equipped with wood-working
tools, also a blacksmithing outfit. With the former 1 was
quite handy, but could do nothing in the blacksmith shop.
However, I had a foreman who could, so between us
we were able to do many jobs that other farmers would
have had to send to town. Thereby we made a saving in
cost and time, and besides found a lot of pleasure and
interest in the work. As I experienced some difficulty in
getting any of the traveling threshing outfits to come up
into the hills and thresh our crop, I bought a small
threshing machine operated by horsepower, and in July
commenced the harvest of the crop. It is hardly neces-
sary to say that I was full of anxieties as to how it would
turn out. I had begun to have fears of unfavorable
results, because of the discovery that some kind of an
insect was blighting the crop in places. This insect proved
to be the Hessian fly, and, as near as I could learn, this
was its first appearance in the wheat fields of California.
It made its appearance in nearly all of the wheat fields
in the vicinity of Vallejo that year. In some places its
ravages were worse than others. One of my neighbors
had a field of wheat so injured that he made no attempt
to harvest it. The injury to the growing grain through
the action of the pest was by the fly depositing its eggs
in a crease of the leaves of the plant, and the larvae,
when hatched, working their way down the leaf until
they came to a joint between the leaf and stalk, where
they remained, extracting the sap. until they turned to
— 246 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

pupae. The latter are about the size and appearance of
a small flax seed. This injury to the plant caused the
stalks to wither and prevented the heads from filling,
as they otherwise would. It was thought by many people
that the fly was brought to this country by some vessel
from foreign lands that came to Vallejo to load with
wheat, but as the pest had been known at times for a
century past in Eastern grain fields, there was as much
probability of its coming froin the Atlantic side of the
country, by way of the new railroad, in packing straw,
as from the ships at Vallejo.

When my grain was all threshed and sacked I had
scarcely half the number of sacks anticipated. Instead
of "making enough money from the first crop to pay for
the ranch" as I had been told I would, I found, after
selling the grain, that I had not made enough money
to pay the expense of plowing, seeding, and harvesting.
In fact, I had run behind, as a business transaction, in
the neighborhood of $4,000. I was discouraged, but I
liked the ranch life so well that I was determined to
stay with it, confident that I would eventually learn how
to work the ranch successfully. I decided to discontinue
the one crop idea. The next year I let go to hay and pas-
ture the greater part of the ground I had cultivated the
previous season, and only plowed and seeded a couple of
hundred acres of land, a considerable part of which had
never had a crop on it. I also started a dairy, making
butter, and bought some fine stock for breeding purposes.
When harvest time came I cut and stacked a fine lot of
grain. The hay crop was a good one, too. The harvesting
of the hay delayed our threshing until September. The
threshing machine was finally put to work, and we were
just cleaning up the first stack, or setting, when I saw a
curl of smoke rise from under the feet of the man on
the feed table of the machine. Almost instantly there
followed a burst of flame, and soon all was ablaze on

— 2^7 —

lircoUcclions of a Newspaprrnuin

l<)|) <»r llic l;il)lc :iii<l pl.-iHoi-iii ol llic dc nick wa^on. I'lic
men on llic lahlc had to jiim|) lo cscaix' llic lire. I ordered
a couple ol men lo ciil llic horses loose Irorii liie horse-
power, and olhers lo hilch a team lo the rear (d" Ihe
llircsher to pull it away froin the blazing derrick wagon,
hut before all Ihe fastenings that held the threshing ma-
chine could be loosened the lire had spread lo it and further
elVorl was useless, for in a few seconds it was on fire from
end to end. I then directed all our efforts to preventing
the fire spreading to the stubble. In this we were suc-
cessful. A few sacks of unthreshed grain, the derrick
and derrick wagon, with feeder attachment, and the
thresher was the sum of the loss, which was estimated
to be about 1>2000. The season was so far gone I knew it
was impossible to find an outside threshing outfit that
could be induced to come to the ranch and finish the work
of threshing the crop. Before the embers of the fire were
all extinguished I jumped on a horse and rode over to a
neighboring ranch where they had an outfit, but there
they had just finished dismantling it and had stored it
for the winter. I then concluded there was nothing to do
but to go to the city and buy another machine. It took
about ten days to get the new machine up to the ranch,
rig up another derrick wagon, self-feeder, etc., and get it
in operation. We threshed out a small setting of oats
and then moved to the wheat, where I had expected a
big return for our labor. We got all ready, with every-
thing working nicely, when it commenced raining, and
operations had to be suspended. This rainstorm was one
of the most remarkable for the amount of rainfall, length
of time, and the season ever recorded in the state. All
Californians who have paid any attention to these mat-
ters know that it is very unusual to have hea^'y rains
and continuous storms in September, but on this occa-
sion there was hardly any cessation of rainfall from the
day it began until near the first of November. I think
— 2^S —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

the storm covered some five or six weeks. Then, when
the weather did clear up, the grain stacks to be threshed
were wet througli to the ground. It was late in November
before any part of them was sufiQciently dried out to be
threshed. By this time the grain on top of the stacks
had sprouted and the tops of all the stacks were green
with growing grain. Of course, this all had to be thrown
away, as well as a goodly portion of the interior of the
stacks. Our loss in this was more than one-third of the
grain. Although we were able to thresh out the remain-
der, it was so damaged by mildew that the wheat could
only be sold for chicken feed at a greatly reduced price.
1 figured my loss on the wheat at something like $1000.
The aggregate damages from the fire and rain were
sufficient to wipe out the profits of the year from the hay
crop. It was disappointing, but I found some encourage-
ment in the result of the year's work in that I had done
much better than the year before, and the misfortune
could not be assigned to bad management or poor judg-
ment. Besides, with my two years' experience, I now
knew more about the business. The next year, with my
increased dairy output, sale of stock, hay, etc., I scored
a profit of nearly -^4000. I had given much study and
attention to the dairy feature and was marketing a
product that found ready sale at an advance over the
market quotations, but in the meantime I was once more
drawn into the swirl of political strife. I had hoped, with
the close of my services in the Legislature, to be freed
from further connection with politics, but it seemed as
if fate had assumed control of the destiny of my life
and was determined to make a politician of me, regard-
less of my desires or inclinations. This time I was made
Postmaster of Vallejo. I did not want the position. I did
not want to give the time to the office that I could employ
with greater satisfaction and interest in conduct of the
ranch, and then, again, it necessitated moving back to

— 249 —

Recollections of a Newspaperman

town. When llic su^<^(sli()ii \v;is first iiiiidc to iiic I
persistently refused to accept. Other candidates for the
ofVice were niakinfj strenuous ellorts to ^et the position,
and I gave what innuence I couhl muster for one of the
parties who was a warm personal friend, with the sincere
liope that lie wouki Ik- a|)pointed and that I wouhi not be
bothered further about it. The situation became very
embarrassing to Senator John F. Miller, who had the
naming of the Postmaster, and he made a very strong
appeal to me to take the office. Other influences were
brought to bear, and, besides, the two leading candidates
for the place both asked me to reconsider my determina-
tion in the matter. In short, I yielded. This was in the
spring of 1882. I bought a lot in town and erected a
cottage, where we were very comfortably located. The lot
was a large one, admitting of the erection of a barn, the
keeping of a cow, etc. We had now become so accus-
tomed to the use of horses and the advantages of having
plenty of milk that we felt we did not want to try to get
along without such conveniences. I kept two horses and
a cow. The taking care of the animals, vehicles, and
harness, gave me, daily, abundance of good, healthy
exercise, though Frank and Abe were now old enough to
help, and rendered assistance in the work. I look back
on those days as one of the most pleasing periods of our
home life.

It was in this little home, with the happy surroundings,
that Harr>' was born in June, 1883. How proud we were
of him ! Four boys ! All honor to the brave mother who
bore and raised them to honorable manhood. I know
of no better place in these memoirs to express my grati-
tude, my pleasure, my pride, that all four should reach
manhood's estate without reproach to their characters,
and without causing us a single hour of distress by acts
of misdeed, or anxieties as to their futures. I frequently
said to your mother that we could be shorn of all earthly

— 250 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

possessions, yet we would still have treasures beyond
any estimate of value: four honorable boys, whose love
and devotion to their parents were a blessing we most
devoutly thanked God for. Oh, what a source of con-
solation to me were these boys in the hours of my greatest
grief, when death claimed the mother! In recording
these thoughts, I can not repress the tears or the gripping
of the heartstrings. A better mother, a more loyal, faith-
ful, and loving wife never lived. The nobility of her
character and the beauty of her soul were strong influ-
ences that could not be otherwise than reflected in the
lives of her boys.

Not only into politics, but into the newspaper business,
was I drawn once more. Mr. Farnham, the owner of the
Vallejo Chronicle, had died, and the administrator of his
estate was very anxious to dispose of the newspaper
business. A couple of the young men, W. D. Pennycook
and W. B. Soule, who had worked for me, and, in fact,
had learned the printing trade in my office, persuaded me
to buy the plant. It was understood that they should have
an interest in the business and relieve me from the annoy-
ance and time-consuming details of administration. The
executor of the estate, or his attorney — which, I do not
remember — was out of town, but a bargain was made
with one or the other, and the property was turned over
to the new owners, and we had published one or two
issues of the paper, when the absent representatives of
the estate returned and refused to confirm the bargain.
As I recall the incident, it was for the reason that not
sufficient money had been paid down for the property.
We insisted that the representatives of the estate should
stand by the bargain. They would not, and we therefore
turned the business back to them and retired from the
paper. My young friends were greatly disappointed, and
urged the starting of another paper, which we finally did.
The enterprise thus being determined upon, we pur-

— 251 —

lircollrcfions of (i News paper man

cliascd ;i phiiit ;iii<l soon li;i(l ;i |);ij)(r hciiif^ regularly
issued wliieh we named llie Vallejo licpinv, niakiu^ my
third undertaking in the way ol" eslahhshing newspapers.
The enterprise demanded closer attention and more active
work than an old-established paper would have required.
I was now runnini^ the ranch, directing and overseeing
the postoflice business, and managing the business of the
Vallejo Review. As may be imagined, my time was fully
occupied, but as I was in good health I enjoyed the work.
The Review was making a decided headway, when the
owners of the Chronicle came to us and offered to sell us
the paper on the basis of the original terms. It was now
our turn to dictate, but we were not hard on them, and a
bargain was soon reached and the two papers merged
under the name of Vallejo Evening Chronicle.

The next year (1884) gave us another presidential
campaign. The Chronicle supported the Republican can-
didates with all the strength it could command. I know
I shared in the feeling, so common with Republicans that
year, that the election of Cleveland would be disastrous
to the business interests of the nation. I shall never forget
the exciteinent among the Democrats of Vallejo that the
news of the election of the Democratic candidate caused
in that town. In manifesting their joy they threw all
restraint to the wind. In a short time, without call or
pre-arrangement, they assembled in mid-day, as of one
mind, on the main street, formed a procession and
marched around town, dragging a small cannon. They
marched with little semblance of order, a howling, shout-
ing mob of wildly delighted citizens. Some were coatless,
some were hatless, just as they were when they rushed
from their occupations to join the parade. They gave
little consideration to personal appearances. It seemed
as if all they wanted to do was to shout. The cannon was
frequently made to add its roar to the general clamor.
The demonstration lasted until the men were near

— 252 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

exhaustion. However, the enthusiasm was not exhausted
in one day, by any means. Later on there were fireworks
at night, speeches, and more orderly demonstrations
of delight over the victory than were shown in the
impromptu affair. The Democrats, generally, decorated
themselves with colors or some badge indicative of their
feelings. It was quite a common sight to see miniature
roosters mounted on the men's hats, 1 think it must have
been more than a week before the excitement of the event
allowed the affairs of the town to assume a normal
condition.

The change of administration from Republican rule to
Democratic domination meant that the men holding
federal offices would have to step out. Although there
was the tenure of office act, which was supposed to protect
an official in holding his office for the length of term for
which he had been appointed, 1 had no inclination to
remain Postmaster under an administration the Presi-
dent of which I had so severely criticised, during the
campaign, in the columns of the Chronicle, but I never
had a chance to resign. Very soon after Cleveland was
inaugurated (March, 1885) I received a letter, over his
signature, removing me from the office on the ground of
"offensive partisanship." 1 was the first commissioned
officeholder on the Coast to be removed from his position.
I was satisfied with this distinction, and gave up the
office with no small degree of pleasure. I found out after-
ward that some one had clipped out of the Chronicle all
the objectionable items and editorials that had appeared
in the paper during the campaign, and pasted them in
one continuous strip, which made quite a bulky roll, and
this was laid before the President in proof of the charge
that I had been unduly active in my opposition to the
Democratic ticket. 1 must say here that if I had known
Grover Cleveland then as I learned to know his worth
and the greatness of his character in after years, 1 am

— 253 —

liccollcclion.s of <i NriDspaprrnum

sure in;my tilings said in the Chronicle during that cam-
paign would have remained unsaid. However, I never
entertained the slightest feeling of resentment toward him
for removing me from ollice. On the eonlrary, I after-
ward learned to hold him in high esteem as one of the
foremost men of our eountry.

The affairs at the ranch did not progress in order and
with satisfaction after I moved into town, so, having an
opportunity tf) rent the place for -$2000 per year, I leased
it to a dairyman in the fall of 1884, just before the election.
There were two matters which greatly influenced me to
this action. One was the loss of my foreman, a splendid
fellow, for whom I had great regard, not only on account
of his efficiency, but for his excellent character. The other
was a row between the head dairyman and the cook, in
which the latter stabbed the former in the leg, from
which wound he bled to death. When the news of the
affray reached me in town it was after dark, and I
hastened out to the ranch and arrived there in time to
save the cook from the vengeance of the dairv'man's
friends, who had begun to assemble there from the neigh-
boring ranches. The cook was arrested, and at the
preliminary examination was dismissed from custody
upon his showing that the dairyman was the aggressor
and had him down on the ground, when he took his
pocket knife out and cut the assailant in the leg.

I had planted about ten acres of land to vineyard and
orchard, and the young trees and vines were making a
fine growth. When making the lease to the dairyman, I
proposed to reserve this portion of the ranch, as I was
afraid it would not receive the care and attention I would
give it. He pleaded so hard to have it included in the
lease that I let it go, with a stringent provision for the
necessary cultivation and pruning, with the penalty that
the lease would be annulled upon any failure to conform
strictly to the agreement as to the care of this part of the

— ?54 —

Legislative Experiences and Farm Life

ranch. That winter and spring were unusually wet. The
roads were impassable the greater part of the winter,
and it was not until the month of April that I was able
to visit the ranch and see how things were going. I found
the orchard had been made a calf pasture, and the vine-
yard a mass of weeds nearly breast high, not a plow or
cultivator having been used since I gave up possession of
the place, I immediately told the dairyman he would
have to vacate. I found another renter, Frank Baranci,
who remained a tenant for several years after I had sold
the ranch, and who has since become a ranch owner and
a well-to-do citizen.

It was while I was still Postmaster that some of my
friends in Benicia prevailed upon me to establish a news-
paper in that town. After several consultations it was
decided to start a weekly paper. L. B. Mizner, the father
of the well-known Mizner boys, had taken considerable
interest in the matter, and when I asked him to suggest
a name for the new paper, he proposed that we consult
Mrs. Mizner. She quickly proposed the name of the
New Era of Benicia. It was adopted without discussion
as being a most appropriate title. A young man named
Macdonald was given an interest in the business. He
lived in Benicia and attended to the office. I gave a
couple of days or parts of days each week to the enter-
prise, until the paper was well established, when I sold
out my interest to a young man named Ferguson. The
paper changed hands many times, but was still alive
and apparently thrifty when I last saw a copy of it not
very long ago. In later years Ferguson made quite a
reputation for himself in the Philippines, where he gained
the admiration and friendship of President Taft. The
New Era made the fourth paper I had established.

— 255 —

CHAPrKH XIII

NFiWSPAPEH LMH IN OAKLAND

Removal from Vdllcjo to Oakland- How the. J^iiqiiirrr
Was Established — Senator Aaron A. Sargent and 1 1 is
Sensational Defeat — Election of Stanford — The Great
Railroad Strike — Alameda County Politics.

Having got rid of the cares of the ranch, poslollicc, and
the New Era, I had only the Chronicle's business to
engross my time. Perhaps it was that I did not feel I had
enough business to satisfy the tastes and desires for a
bustling life, or it may have been the change of admin-
istration and political control of the navy yard that
awakened a desire to move to San Francisco. While I
was in this frame of mind I was requested to visit Oak-
land by some prominent gentlemen there, who said
another newspaper was needed. It was also proposed
that I take charge of and conduct a paper called the
Express. If I would consent, it was the purpose to buy the
paper and plant. I made an investigation of the books of
the concern and found it had but little business, and a
walk through the printing office disclosed the most dilapi-
dated condition of things that I ever looked upon or
imagined could exist in a composing or press room. The
floor appeared not to have been swept for months. Hun-
dreds of pounds of pied type were lying around in all
kinds of receptacles and in all manner of places. There
was no order or system manifested in the care of any-
thing pertaining to the business. The press used to print
the paper was wholly unfit for that or any other purpose.
My report on the plant was to the effect that it was worse

— 256 —

Newspaper Life in Oakland

than worthless. Even the paper itself had a bad name,
and I said I would not accept the whole thing as a gift.
It developed that some of the gentlemen who had made
the proposition were financially interested in the paper,
and were working up a scheme to get out or to secure
a management with a reorganization of the business
arrangements that would give some value to the publica-
tion. My findings completely smashed the programme,
as well as all interest in the organization of a company
to start a new paper in Oakland.

In my visits to Oakland in connection with this propo-
sition I made a number of acquaintances and had a
chance to study the town. The more I saw of it the more
I liked the place. The attractive homes, the delightful
climate, and the agreeable people I met, combined with
the excellent educational advantages for children, influ-
enced me in deciding to make Oakland our future home.
Having reached this conclusion, I informed the young
men associated with me in publishing the Vallejo Chron-
icle that I was going to move my family to Oakland, and
intended to make that place our future home, and that I
wished them to buy my interest in the business. The
trade was quickly consummated. W. D. Pennycook and
L. G. Harrier became the owners, and this partnership
continued under most prosperous conditions for about
twenty-seven years, when Mr. Harrier, who had become
a prominent attorney in Solano County, desired to retire.
Mr. Pennycook is now sole owner of the business, which
is of much greater value and importance than when I sold
out my interest.

When it was known that I intended to leave Vallejo, I
quickly found a buyer for our little home, and in Feb-
ruary, 1886, we moved to Oakland, taking up our resi-
dence at the boarding house of Mrs. Blake in Washington
Street, which house was located in the center of the block
between Eleventh and Twelfth streets. The large trees,

— 257 —

liccoUcclions of (t NriDsfxtprrinan

shriihlxry, f»ar(l(ns, and l;i\vns aljoul the place made it
most allraclive and honielike.

During the couple of months pendin/^ the change of
residence I had hecn making frequent visits to Oakland,
and was (juile pleased with the idea of hecoming estab-
lished in business there, especially with no risk of my
capital, as the people who had invited me to come there
proposed to supply all the money necessary for the news-
paper. In fact, the few thousand dollars I had collected
from the sale of my interest in the paper and home I
wished to pay on the mortgage on the ranch. However,
as already stated, my report against buying the Express
upset the chance for going into business on capital
advanced by others. In the course of my several visits I
found the conditions very favorable for the establishment
of another newspaper in Oakland, and soon determined
that I would undertake the enterprise alone. I reasoned
with myself that it would be better this way; that I would
have full freedom in the matter of the policy of the paper
and conduct of the business. The field appeared to me to
be especially inviting and free from any unusual obstacles
or any difficulties not common in the establishment of
any new business. I little knew the dimensions of the
hornets' nest I was deliberately jumping into, or the
sharpness and the length of the stingers of the hornets
soon viciously buzzing around and threatening me from
all sides. Of this, how^ever, I will write later on.

I knew that the establishment of the paper was going to
be a matter of slow progress, and that it would probably
take a couple of years' time before the business could be
expected to pay expenses, and I knew that I did not have
enough money to meet that steady drain or loss necessary
for operations on a large scale. For that reason I decided
to start the paper on the smallest possible plan, and
engage in a job-printing business on the side, figuring that
the profits from the latter, with what money I could raise,

— 258 —

Newspaper Life in Oakland

would meet the expense of maintaining the paper during
the period in which the income from the pubUcation
would be insufficient for the purpose.

While looking around preparatory to making the start,
I found that F. J. Moffitt was publishing a little four-page
advertising sheet semi-weekly, which he had named the
Enquirer. The paper was distributed free around the
business part of the town, and made but little pretense of
giving the news of the day. It had but little advertising
patronage. In truth, there was little reason for its exist-
ence. However, I bought it. It would do to make the
beginning of something greater, I thought, so placed my
name at the head of the editorial page as editor and
publisher. I began at once to put some life into the
editorials and freshness into the local news. The first
day of my ownership I stopped the forms as they were
about to be sent to press to insert the particulars of an
exciting fire alarm on Washington Street. The printers
were amazed, but all hands soon entered into the spirit of
making as good a paper as possible. Moffitt knew of my
intention to have a job-printing office, and brought
George E. Whitney to me with a proposition to sell an
old printing plant that he had been compelled to take
for debt. The office was complete in its furnishings of
type, presses, etc., but the material was somewhat worn.
However, it was well worth $2000, the price Mr. Whitney
placed upon it. He was so anxious to sell it to me that
he offered to give me a bill of sale for the plant, and
take my note, payable whenever it should suit my con-
venience. It was somewhat of a "white elephant" on his
hands. It was stored and was costing him in the neigh-
borhood of $50 or $60 per month for rent and insurance,
as well as some expense for some one to look after it.
I bought the plant on Mr. Whitney's terms. I now had
things working about as I had planned. After running
the little paper three or four months in a way that caused

— 259 —

Iir<-()llc(li(His of <i \rit)sj)(ij)crm(iii

llic |)c()|)lc lo l;ikc some iiolicc ol it, .iiid llic politicians to
consider il soiiiclhiiitj (il :i lactor in Ihc polilital ^anic as
il was bciiifj |)lay(<l in Oakland, I b(f»aii lo plan llic con-
version ol" (lie s( ini-wcckly into a daily issue. My friend
A. B. Nye %\as llicn engaged in ediloiial work on one of
the San T^rancisco |)apers. I j)i'oposed lo liiin Hial he
shouhi lake an inleresl in the Enquirer, which he did.
W. F. Biirbank, Ihen a young attorney in Oakland, also
desired to he iden tilled with the new undertaking, and he
bought a small interest. Thereupon he gave up the idea
of immediate law practice and decided to follow the
profession of journalism. He was a hard and earnest
worker in the upbuilding of the Enquirer. He remained
with the paper several years, but finally sold out his inter-
est to J. T. Bell and entered the field of journalism on a
larger scale in Los Angeles and in North Carolina. But
to return to Mr. Nye, to whom more than any one man
the Enquirer's ultimate financial success, popularity, and
influence are due. I think it was in the month of July, 1886,
that we issued the first number of the Enquirer as a daily
evening paper. We had on the news force \V. V. Burbank,
A. A. Dcnnison, and Alfred Share, and they were all
hard-working and hustling fellows. For a few months
Nye did the editorial work for the Enquirer, after his
work on the San Francisco paper was finished for the day,
and not infrequently his labor for the new paper con-
tinued long past the hour of midnight. This was the spirit
with which all hands worked to give character and stand-
ing to the infant enterprise. The business and circulation
of the paper grew so rapidly that Mr. Nye resigned his
position in San Francisco and gave all of his time and
energy to the Enquirer. Notwithstanding the popularity
and rapid growth of our paper for twenty-seven months
there was not a month that the expenses of our business
did not exceed the income. In other words, for more
than two years there was a steady drain upon our

— 260 —

Newspaper Life in Oakland

financial resources. It was some time during the early
part of this period that Mr. Whitney, from whom we
had purchased the job office, announced himself as a
candidate for Governor, and expressed himself as being
very much hurt and disappointed because we refused
to advocate his nomination or support him in his ambi-
tion. I explained to him that he was identified with a
wing of the party to which we could not give support or
sanction, and moreover we felt that our duty lay in the
support of another candidate. In a very few days I
received a notice that Mr. Whitney must have the money
we owed him for the printing office— a demand quite
inconsistent with the verbal agreement on which the sale
was made. 1 knew that if 1 could have time I could raise
the money, but 1 did not see how I was going to be able
to comply with his demand for immediate payment.
While I was contemplating what to do, Andrew Smith,
who had taken much interest in our enterprise, called at
the office and said that he had learned of the demand of
Mr. Whitney, and insisted upon lending us the money
with which to pay off the note. 1 accepted the loan, giving
Mr. Smith a note for ninety or one hundred and twenty
days.

Mr. Whitney was paid in accordance with his demand,
as was the loan from Mr. Sinith when it became due. Now
comes the most interesting feature of this incident, and it
was more to record the following that I made mention of
the other details, which in themselves are quite ordinary
and unimportant. When I handed Mr. Smith the money
in payment of his loan to us, he said: "You don't know
who loaned you this money, do you?" I replied: "Why
yes, you did." "No," said Mr. Smith, "1 was only acting as
an agent for a friend of yours, who in some way heard of
the unexpected demand made upon you by Mr. Whitney,
and, presuming that the request for the money was made
while you had no surplus funds, he asked me to hand

— 261 —

Recollections of o Nrivspaprrindn

you the amoiiiil, as he knew you would not ncccpl it from
him; and, being in politics, he tliought you niiglil niis-
conslruo liis motives if you should know Ilia I he was
furnisliing llie coin. lieing anxious tl)at you shouhl
get the money and not Ijc distressed, he adopted this
metliod and charged me above all things to keep all
knowledge of his action from you." "Who was this good
friend?" I asked of Mr. Smith. "Ex-Senator A. A. Sar-
gent," was the astounding reply.

I had known the gentleman for ten years or more, but
our relations had not been on intimate terms. During
the time of our acquaintance, or the greater part of it, he
had been Congressman, United States Senator, and
Ambassador to Germany. I was at a loss to understand
his interest in my troubles, to say nothing as to how he
found out that Mr. Whitney was pressing me for money.
I never did learn, but I did have an opportunity to thank
Mr. Sargent for his kindness. He was then in private life.
His political career had been a stormy one. He was a
forceful and aggressive man, with capacity for an
extraordinary amount of work. He was one of the
strongest men in the Senate, and wielded great influence
in the politics of California. He was most loyal to his
friends and uncompromising with enemies, and fearless
in treading the path of duty. Subsequent to the incident
just related, he decided to return to political life, and
announced himself as a candidate for the position of
United States Senator once more. After the state election
was held it was found that the Republicans would be in
the majority in the Legislature, and consequently would
elect the United States Senator to be chosen at the session
to come. As practically no opposition to Mr. Sargent had
been announced, it was supposed that his election by the
Legislature would be a matter of form only. A number
of his friends went to Sacramento when the Legislature
convened, not that they thought their services were ncces-

— 262 —

Newspaper Life in Oakland

sary, but simply to be on hand when the expected great
honor should again be placed in the keeping of Mr. Sar-
gent. I was among the number who assembled there with
that simple idea in their minds. It was a very hapjDy
gathering, embracing a number of men prominent in the
affairs of our state. The first indication of disruption of
the plan of re-election of the ex-Senator was manifested
in the refusal or failure of the Republican leaders of the
Legislature to bring the senatorial election up and dispose
of it quickly, as was expected. The meaning of the delay
in action was not fully understood until some of the
members of the Legislature who had been the loudest in
their declarations for the re-election of Mr. Sargent, and
for the first few days had been the most prominent and
the most officious around the Sargent headquarters, sud-
denly disappeared, and the rooms no longer had their
presence. The friends of Mr. Sargent were disturbed, but
had no idea that it would be possible to prevent his
election. How could a majority of the Legislature
pledged to vote for him be swerved from their promises
at that late hour? Usually it required months of organ-
ized effort and popularity of a candidate to make any
showing in a senatorial fight. With these thoughts in
mind, it did not seem possible that any candidate in
opposition to Mr. Sargent could be thrust into the field
with any hope of success. Still his friends were worried
and puzzled to interpret the meaning of the strange action
of certain members of the Legislature and others who
had been counted upon as reliable supporters of the
ex-Senator. However, they did not have to wait long, for
out of those heavy clouds of political distrust, blackened
with the perfidy of traitorous friends, that had been
hanging for days over those political headquarters, came
a flashing announcement that fell upon the public ear
with a crash and a jar, experienced from one end of the
state to the other. No bolt of fierce lightning or crashing

— 263^

liciollf (lions of <i X('n>.sf)(ipcrm(in

])(';il <>r lliimdcf ever' u;is more sl.uiliiitj. Some hold
poliliciMiis coiincclcd willi the railiond (oiiipMiiy, liiidiiif^
llicy could codIi'oI llic mnjorily of Ihc Ic^ishilivc vote,
had phmiK (I (o li;ivc Lchind Slanford, president ol the
Central Pacific Hailroad, elected lo liie trilled Slates
Senate in j)lace ol" Mr. Sart»enl, who had Ix-en the regu-
larly announced candidate, and for whom the majority
was supposed to be pledged to support.

The anti-railroad feeling or sentiment throughout the
state at the time was very strong, and no one not directly
connected with the scheme would have been bold enough
even to have suggested the name of the president of a
"hated organization" for the great ]){)sition of United
States Senator, much less expect to elect him to the ollice.
People stood aghast. Of the newspapers, some thundered
a protest, some threw up their hands in despair, and some
few applauded. Stanford was easily elected. Sargent
and his friends went home stunned.

For a daring, defiant, skilful, and expeditious piece
of political work, it never has had its equal in this state.
How it was done only a few know, and they won't tell.
Perhaps for the good name of the state it is better it is so.
It is but fair to the memory of Senator Stanford to say
that he made a much more satisfactory Senator than the
enemies of the railroad anticipated. I do not recall that
he at any time misused his high position in the interest
of the great railroad corporation, and but for the manner
of his election his record as Senator was a good one. He
was not a brilliant man, but was faithful to his duties,
which he discharged in a seemingly impartial and able
manner.

When I look back and review all the stirring incidents
attcnt^ng the more than thirty years of my newspaper
life, there is one incident standing somewhat head and
shoulders above all the rest for the worry, anxiety, and
hard work it caused me. 1 refer to the Enquirer's dealing
— 26i —

Newspaper Life in Oakland

with the news and incidents of the great railroad strike
in 1894. Oakland, being the terminus of a great system of
railroads, where were gathered thousands of railroad
hands and their sympathizers, was for a while a seething
center of disturbance. Twenty years and more have
elapsed since the affair occurred, and 1 may have for-
gotten much that took place, but some of the details of
the exciting days are still fresh in my mind. The Enquirer
was one of the few papers that denounced the acts of
violence committed by the desperate strikers. For the
position we took, we were threatened with personal injury,
and efforts were made to have the paper boycotted
through adoption of resolutions to that purpose by all the
trades unions. We had many strong friends among the
workingmen — men who would not sanction the wild deeds
being committed in the fight against the railroad com-
panies. I heard of many instances where the Enquirer
was defended and the resolutions defeated. If the reso-
lutions were adopted by any union, I never heard of it.
However, the Enquirer suffered no loss by its attitude in
the affair.

The great strike grew out of a disagreement between
G. M. Pullman and the workmen employed by him in
building and repairing the Pullman sleepers in the town
of Pullman, near Chicago. On May 10 of the year here-
tofore mentioned, 2500 out of 3100 of the workmen struck
and walked out of the repair shops, and on the day fol-
lowing the shops were closed and the remainder of the
workmen were dismissed. After more than a month of
idleness and failure to secure any concession from Pull-
man, the workmen appealed to the organization of rail-
road employees of the United States to aid them in bring-
ing the great car builder to terms. In response to this
request the national organization ordered the railroad
employees, from Chicago to the Pacific, not to handle any
Pullman sleepers after 4 p. m., June 27. As a result no

— 265 —

Recollections of a Newspaperman

trains with sleeping cars Idl llic yards (;r mole at \V(;st
Oakland after that dale, as the men refused to make up
trains with sleeping cars. For the two or three days fol-
lowing, all other trains were operated as usual, but the
railroad company made no attempt to send out or move
trains ordinarily made up with sleepers. There was some
clamor in the newspapers and by the public for the com-
pany to operate such trains without the Pullmans, but the
request was refused. Thereupon an order came from
Eugene Debs, the head of the national organization of
the railroad employees, on June 28 to tie up the entire
system of the Southern Pacific. The Santa Fe and West-
ern Pacific railroads had not yet reached the state.

The next forenoon a meeting of the railroad employees
was called at West Oakland, which was attended by about
600 men. The leaders of the local organization of rail-
road men reported the actions taken to comply with Dcbs's
order.

The seriousness of the situation as affecting the public
was apparent. The stopping of every passenger train and
all mail and freight movement meant the paralyzation
of business. Up to this time the people generally had been
looking upon the contest as from a disinterested stand-
point, but now the situation was changed, and consider-
able pressure was put upon the railroad company to have
it yield to the demand of the employees. The attitude
of the railroad was denounced by the San Francisco
Examiner as "stupid and blundering." Another news-
paper said: "The luxurious conveyances are not essen-
tial to the wants of business. People will gladly submit
to temporary discomfort while the dispute is being set-
tled." A local paper said: "The party most injured is
in no way a party to the controversy. The people, who
know nothing and care less of the merits of the dispute
between the railroad companies and their employees, are
being ruined by the warfare, throttling industry and com-

— 266 —

Newspaper Life in Oakland

merce." Notwithstanding this, and the fact that it was
in the midst of the fruit shipping season when millions of
dollars to the fruit growers were at stake, the railroad
company refused to operate any passenger train unless
allowed to run the Pullmans. A railroad official, in an
open letter to the public, admitted that the company
could operate a service without the Pullmans, "but to
have conceded this demand would have accomplished
the introduction of a principle in transportation which
would have been a governing and controlling factor in
all future time."

For four or five days there was but little change in the
conditions. The company had difficulty in finding men
to operate the local lines and ferry system, but they man-
aged to make a number of irregular trips daily. Some
few trains had been sent out on the main lines, and some
few came into Oakland. No act of violence or mob action
took place prior to July 4, but on that day the West Oak-
land men gathered for desperate work, which had evi-
dently been carefully pre-arranged. The railroad yards
were rushed by mobs of strikers, engines were stopped
and killed, and engineers and firemen were lucky if they
escaped a beating. The mechanics in the shops were made
to quit work. One of the first acts of lawlessness was dis-
regarding the orders of the United States Marshal, who
tried to stop the men from entering the yards. He was
brushed aside, with yells of derision. The mobs swept
through the yards, doing some rough work in "persuad-
ing" the men to quit work. Local trains were killed on
the way to and from the ferries and the passengers made
to leave the cars. One train was killed on the mole and a
big crowd of holiday passengers was compelled to walk
back to Oakland. A wagonload of policemen and a lot
of Deputy Sheriffs responded to the call of the railroad
superintendent, but they arrived on the scene too late to
be of any great service.

— 267 —

Hccollcclions of a IKcmsjxipcrmdii

A similar display ol lofi-c was made hy llic strikers a(
all points in the West Iroin (^liica^o to tlic Pacilic. Not
a wlu'C'i in all this tciiiloiy was allowed to liirii. 'llic most
gigantic strike know n to history was now on.

The company was allowed to operate Icrryhoals by the
Creek route as a concession to public convenience. For
several weeks mail between cities of California was trans-
ported on bicycles. Automobiles had not yd been iiiho-
duccd.

The first destruction of j)roi)erty to be rej)orted was
the burning of a 2()()-foot trestle in the Shasta Canyon.
Rails on the lines leading out of Sacramento were spread,
preventing the use of the tracks.

Federal and state troops were now ordered out, some
of which were sent to Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Oak-
land, wath the purpose of supporting the United States
Marshals, who had served notices on the strike leaders
not to interfere with the movement of mail matter. The
strikers met this move by bringing into Sacramento from
outside points several lots of armed strikers. A clash
between the strikers and the soldiers seemed unavoid-
able. Owing to the feeling of the public in relation to
the railroad company, growing out of its interference with
the politics of the state and its attitude of defiance of
public opinion for years past, and the sympathy of a great
portion of the people with the strikers, it was thought that
the state troops could not be relied upon to enforce any
orders against the strikers requiring the use of arms. In
short, it was not thought they would fire upon the strikers
in any offensive movement against them.

As soon as the soldiers were ordered out and distrib-
uted to the points ordered, the railroad company began
to prepare to move trains under protection. Neither the
engineers nor the conductors had joined the strike move-
ment, and as it was not a very difficult matter to get men
to perform the services of firemen, the railroad company

— 268 —

Newspaper Life in Oakland

thought that, with the protection of the soldiers at the
points of arrival and departure, they could operate the
trains with some show of regularity. The first move was
made at Sacramento in an attempt to dispossess the
strikers in control of the depot and yard, and it began
with a wrangle between the commander of the state troops
and the United Slates Marshal as to who should give
the orders that in all probability would result in blood-
shed. The Marshal refused to shoulder the responsi-
bility unless he could command the troops. Finally the
command was turned over to him. In the meantime a
company of Sacramento militia had been ordered into
action at some other point in the city, and had refused
to fire on the strikers and had even fallen back, upon a
demonstration on the part of the mob. The Marshal, upon
being given command of the militia, directed the placing
of soldiers around the depot, then issued orders for a
detachment to clear the depot by driving the strikers out,
with instructions for the soldiers to fire on the strikers
if it were necessary. Before these last orders reached the
detachment of troops or could be executed, the news of
the action of this Sacramento company called a halt and
resulted in a demoralization of all plans. At Chico the
militia had planned to capture a trainload of armed
strikers reported to be coming down from Shasta way to
reinforce their companions at Sacramento. A cannon was
mounted on the track, and soldiers were so placed as
to be in position to tear up the track in rear of the train
when it was stopped. This company was even ordered to
withdraw. In the course of the next few days United
States troops displaced the militia and soon put the
depot and other property of the railroad in possession
of the railroad company. It was not accomplished without
some shooting and some bloodshed, however, not in a
general conflict between the soldiers and strikers in large
bodies, but in cases where the latter were discovered in

— 269 —

Hcrollrrtious of a Newspapprtnan

attcnipls to clainagc properly or when parlies refused or
neglected to obey tlie orders of the soldiers.

On .Inly 11 the company managed to get a train started
out of Sacramento for Oakland, hut ahout eight miles out
from the city it met with a terrible disaster. It was
wrecked while passing over the trestle at that point by an
explosion of dynamite. Clark, a well-known engineer in
charge of the train, was killed, as were four soldiers who
were on the train, and several other people were injured.
Subsequently, the parties guilty of this outrage were
caught and convicted after a hard-fought trial in the
courts of Yolo County.

Other deeds of violence were being committed in the
Eastern railroad centers, which were taken account of
by President Cleveland in ordering federal troops to such
places in sufTicient numbers to enforce law and order.
Public opinion underwent considerable change when the
strikers resorted to violence, and the public mind was
being wrought up to a pitch that added seriousness to the
situation. On the 13th of July, Debs, who was the head
of the whole affair, sent out a telegram ordering the strike
off, "under conditions," w^hich the railroad companies
refused to accept. The order had a demoralizing effect
on the strikers' organizations and there was some wran-
gling among the strikers as to what should be done. Many
of the rank and file wanted to give up the struggle and go
back to work, but the leaders refused, with the hope that
they could by so doing influence the railroad to take all
the strikers back unconditionally.

Within a day or two the company began to give evi-
dence of making headway against the strike, in sending
out a few trains from Oakland and other points. The
strikers now rallied in further attempt to block the opera-
tion of trains. On the 16th a freight train was started
out of the West Oakland yards which was attacked by a
mob, but before the strikers succeeded in accomplishing
— 270 —

Newspaper Life in Oakland

anything to stop the departure of the train the soldiers
and police were on the scene and quickly put the mob to
flight. Some few days after this an attempt w^as made to
dynamite a Seventh Street local train at Kirkham Street.
The explosion made a terrific noise, but did little dam-
age. A guard on the locomotive was asked "how high the
engine was lifted from the rails." "Oh, I don't know,
exactly, but so high that I thought I saw the gates of
heaven."

Numerous minor offenses were committed in the war-
fare against the railroad company. Public feeling against
the strikers reached a point where it was felt necessary
by the citizens of Oakland to take some action in the
interest of law and order. A mass meeting was called
for the evening of the 17th of July. There was a large
gathering of citizens in response to the call. The assem-
blage was addressed by the Mayor and other prominent
people. The outrages involving the destruction of life and
property were warmly denounced. Resolutions were
adopted pledging "the influence of the citizens, and the
force of arms by them if necessary, in bringing punish-
ment to the officers of the A. R. U. or persons guilty of
blocking railroad traffic by violence or unlawful acts."
Some seventy or eighty citizens signed the pledge, and
it was arranged that thirteen taps of the City Hall bell
should be the signal to call them into service. The situa-
tion, however, began to improve, and additional trains
were being sent out with less interference, so fortunately
there was no call for aid beyond what the police and sol-
diers could give.

Soon after the passenger trains began to be operated
the strike officials published a notice warning the travel-
ing public against patronizing all trains on the Southern
Pacific lines, saying, "Such trains are unsafe, as the men
who operate them are incompetent, and great damage to
life and limb may result from faulty operation of trains

— 271 —

/xrrollcclions of a XrinsfKipfrmnn

ciilriislcd lo unskilled IkiikIs." In llic s.iinc notice the
sti'ikc ()llifi;il.s denied icsponsihility lor the ouli*;i^es coni-
milted ;ii«;iins[ the r;iilro;id ;in<l dechired thi y would not
indorse violence.

It \\;is not exnctly tiMie thai the trains were ix-irif^ o|)er-
ated hy "unskilled hands," Tor, exceptirif^ i^reen firemen,
Ihc engineers and conductors were in the main old hands
and experienced men in the husiness. Nevertheless, travel
was "light," for passengers were somewhat timid yet, and
not a lew interpreted the warning to the pui^lic as a threat
and a notice that more trains would he dynamited.

On the 21st oi" July the railroad company announced
that for the first time since June 29 all the trains, way.
local, passenger, and freight, would move that day as
per schedule. On the two previous days 4o0 cars of freight
had been dispatched from the West Oakland yard. It was
apparent to everybody, including the strikers, that the
strike was broken. In fact, if the company would have
consented to lake back all hands, the men would have
given up the contest a week before, hut the company
would not reinstate the men connected with the deeds of
violence, great or small. At Sacramento it was reported
that the railroad men met after the trains began moving
on schedule and decided by a two-thirds vote to give
up the fight unconditionally, each man to present him-
self individually for reinstatement in the employ of the
company and do the best he could. It was said that this
action w^as largely influenced by the attitude of the public
of the capital city. However, Knox, the strike leader there,
repudiated the action, saying it was the work only of
the "weak-kneed." Subsequently the Oakland organiza-
tion sent agents to Sacramento to see how things were
really going, and upon their return and report the union
in Oakland voted to remain out. Nevertheless, the men
realized that the fight was lost and they began to apply
272

Newspaper Life in Oakland

to the heads of departments of the railroad company for
reinstatement.

On the 23d the Fifth Regiment of state mihtia was sent
home, but the Second Artillery and a naval force of 650
men, all federal troops, were continued on duty for a few
days longer.

Some little show of keeping up the contest was con-
tinued by the extremists, but by the 1st of August even this
ceased and peace reigned again after an entire month of
a bitter struggle.

During the last days of the strike the leaders called a
mass meeting in Oakland which was largely attended by
the railroad men and people who sympathized with them
in their fight against the railroad companies. The speak-
ers denounced the Mayor and other citizens who spoke
at the previous mass meeting and used the opportunity to
justify the strike.

At a period in the strike when the strikers were in con-
trol of the situation Mrs. Stanford, widow of Leland Stan-
ford, late president of the Southern Pacific, started from
the East for her home in San Francisco via one of the
Northern roads. When her private car reached the sec-
tion within control of the strikers and where no trains
were being operated the strikers gallantly manned engines
and continued the car on through its trip to the Oakland
inole. At Davisville, Yolo County, the company attempted
to get possession of the engine and train, but were foiled
by the strikers.

The business of the Enquirer grew, meeting all our
expectations, but the expanding business meant a larger
plant and increased facilities for getting out the paper
more rapidly and in larger numbers. Before the end of
five years we were compelled to increase the pressroom
facilities three times. The first press we used was a Hoe
single cylinder, which served our wants for a few months.
We then purchased a double-acting single cylinder. It

— 273 —

RrcoUrclions of a NriDspaprrmdn

was the fastest press printing from type on a flat bed that
I ever saw. I!s rate was good for .'{000 copies per hour. I
was lohl when I bought it that it was built to print the
San Francisco (Chronicle in the early stages ol that paper.
We liad many visitors come to our ollicc to see the press
in operation — people who had iieard of the- reputed speed
and capacity and wanted ocular proof of tlie claim. Such
a thing to many was imbelievable. It was quite a small
affair and gave us much trouble in keej)ing it fastened
to the floor. In less than a year it became necessary to
buy a press of greater capacity.

This time we purchased a new Hoe double-cylinder
press, which answered our wants for a couple of years.
Then when the circulation demanded a press of still
greater capacity we put in a stereotype-plate or perfecting
press, printing from endless rolls of paper. It was named
the "Maid of Athens," and did fine work, filling all
requirements for several years. It was the first of its kind
erected in Oakland. The increase of business in the job
printing department required almost a constant outlay for
additional appliances. These continual drafts for addi-
tional capital made it incumbent upon me to sell my
ranch. I found a customer in Oakland who gave me some
fine property for the ranch, which by a series of trades
and sales I managed to turn into cash, realizing about
$30,000 for the ranch, for which I had paid J?18,000. After
paying off some debts, I had something like $15,000 or
$20,000 more money to put into the Enquirer business —
and there it went.

Our quarters on Ninth Street, just off Broadway, were
cramped and inconvenient. We relieved the situation tem-
porarily by renting a store on Broadway for the busi-
ness ofiice and editorial rooms. The rear of this room
was in proximity to the printing and pressrooms facing
on Ninth Street, but the growing business of the con-
cern soon demanded more room. It was in 1890 that I
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Newspaper Life in Oakland

made arrangements with the owners of a lot on Tenth
Street for the erection of a three-story brick building with
a basement for a pressroom. It was completed and we
moved into it in 1891, and the building has been the home
of the Enquirer ever since.

The circulation of the paper grew until it enjoyed the
distinction of being classed by advertising agents as one
of the "top notchers" of the evening papers of the United
States, considering the number of papers issued in relation
to the population. It was one of the most widely quoted
papers in the state, and its editorials were generally
acknowledged to be the soundest and strongest. For this
feature we were indebted to Mr. Nye. Through the energy,
loj'^alty, and ability of the young men who had thrown
their whole souls into the enterprise with us, and by the
strict adherence to policies adopted for the best interests
of the community, the Enquirer was a success in every
way, financially and politically. We might have increased
the revenues of the business had we been willing to
smother our principles and not be particular as to the
source and purpose underlying ofl'ers of business. We
rejected thousands of dollars offered for lottery advertis-
ing. Not a line was allowed in the paper. Notwithstanding
such advertising was prohibited by law, papers with-
out scruples accepted the business and ran the advertise-
ments with impunity. How could a paper acquire any
influence or gain the confidence of the public if it should
wantonly violate the laws or commit acts for which it was
bounden to censure others?

At the time we began the publication of the paper the
political situation in Oakland Citj'^ and Alameda County
was deplorable. Through a combination of the railroad
company and the water company complete control of
both county and city administration had existed for sev-
eral years, with scarce a break of any kind in the con-
tinuity of the rule. The combination surely ruled with an

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Ixccollfclioiis of (I XciiKspapcrnuin

iron IkiihI. I \\;is lold l)y scvcfjil |);irli(s who ii:i(i l>ccii
nmbilioiis lo serve in some ol the piihlie ollices llial tliey
found it inij)()ssil)le even lo {^el ixlore llie public at any
stage of the game (unless as an independent candi<late)
without the consent of Ihe doininiinl power*, and no one
liad the h-ast clianei' of success unhss the cainhdacy was
approved by that power. Hearing these statements, I
made some investigations and found that it had been
quite generally understood among would-be ollice-hold-
ers that they would at each campaign cross the bay to
the railroad ollices and there submit their claims or
desires to the political managers of the corporation, and
no one could obtain a place on the Republican ticket
who did not satisfy the managers that he was unobjec-
tionable to the corporation mentioned. These candidates
were asked very plain questions, and were made to
understand plainly what was expected of them. This
practice extended to the most unimportant otlicc on the
ticket. The two corporations had enormous interests at
stake, especially the railroad company, and they prob-
ably acted with the idea that it was more economical
and safer to select and elect the olYicials of the city and
county administrations than to take the chances of get-
ting what they wanted from administrations chosen with-
out participation on their part.

The work cut out for the Enquirer was to make war on
this outrageous practice, rouse the people to a sense of
their political obligations and actions to maintain their
rights, and assist them in rooting out such oflicials as
only acknowledged obligation and were subservient to
the railroad and water company combination. It was an
enormous undertaking, and when I look back now over
those years and recall the incidents of that bitter contest,
I marvel that we began it so poorly equipped. We must
have had some courage and determination, which were
probably the things to be credited largely for the com-
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Newspaper Life in Oakland

plete success that finally crowned our efforts. When the
work was completed the people had elected men of their
choice to every ofTice both in the county and city.

At the outset of the contest, or soon after it was begun,
it became apparent that to make any substantial and last-
ing headway the voters favorable to reclaiming their
rights would have to be organized with something like
a party formation. From this idea grew the Municipal
League. For the needs of the first campaign directed by
the league I personally made the canvass and collections
of about all the funds used. The amount was small,
being considerably less than $2000. The Enquirer con-
tributed considerable printing and all the advertising.
Many of the leaguers contributed time and services
usually paid for, so the organization was able to make the
campaign with a comparatively small outlay. The greater
part of our money was expended in protecting the polls
from fraudulent voters and watching the ballots after
having been cast. It was a common thing for Oakland to
be overrun on primary election days by gangs of toughs
and repeaters from San Francisco. If their presence here
had not been made profitable to them, it was not reason-
able to expect that they would have taken the trouble to
come. On these occasions the league would employ the
Harry Morse Detective Agency to send to Oakland men
who were sufficient and able to pick out the unwelcome
visitors and prevent their voting. I remember that at
one very important primary, upon the result of which
depended a vote for United States Senator, we heard of
the preparations made to bring over an extra large num-
ber of "south of Market Street" repeaters, who were to
be furnished with conveyances to enable them to pass
readily from one polling place to another. We learned,
too, that we had a desperate gang to deal with. The men
had been selected for their efiicicncy, already shown in
like occupation in San Francisco. After a council of

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liccollrclioiis of a NciDspajjrrinan

w;ir, we (licidcd we sliould liavc to Muct kind willi kind
and in ('(jnal nnnil)(rs if possible II was lirsl thou^iit
thai vvc would not be able to hire any toughs willing to
fight under a banner with the motto of "honest election
and a lair count." But we had no trouble in employing
a gang of selected loughs and piize-fighlcrs. Fiiey were
parceled out and instructed that their duty was to stand
by the league representative at each polling place and
point out the repeaters, and to assist the league men in
any physical cfTort that might be necessary to prevent
illegal voting. Above all things, they were cautioned not
to attempt to vote. This experience was something new
to the band of burly men, who probably had never before
accepted employment in a political contest without know-
ing that the work they had undertaken carried with it
the risk of a term in jail or prison. But they entered into
the spirit of the fight and proved their loyalty and effi-
ciency. Only one man of the lot gave any trouble, and
that was only annoyance. He \vas stationed at a polling
place in East Oakland, and after he had sized up the
situation he concluded he could easily work in a lot of
fraudulent votes for our side. A half hour after the
polls were opened, he left his station and came to me
and with great earnestness explained how he could
increase our vote in his precinct. I ordered him back
and warned him that our men would arrest him if he
attempted to vote. In an hour or so he came back to
renew his argument. I told him that if he came again
with this or any like proposition he would not be paid.
He went off with an expression of disgust on his face that
was unmistakable. He came to me the third time plead-
ing to be allowed free rein. I then tried to explain to
him that our side did not have to resort to repeating or
fraudulent voting of any kind. We knew that we had a
majority of the votes if we could get tlicm in and have
them fairly counted, and that he didn't have to do crooked

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Newspaper Life in Oakland

work, but just be straight. He replied, "Mr. Leach, I would
sooner do the work in a crooked way than straight." I
directed him back to his beat and sent word to our people
to watch the fellow, but he made no trouble, and was one
of the enthusiastic shouters after the election. When the
time came to open the polls, a gang of the repeaters
crowded around one of the principal voting places in the
Second Ward, forcing aside the challengers and other
opposition, with the intention of putting in a lot of fraud-
ulent votes, but our men were equal to the requirements
of the case, and not a vote did the gang get in there.
They then drew off and in a bunch started for the polling
place on Telegraph Avenue, in the same ward. Our
managers at the first precinct sent word with some
reinforcements, warning our friends at the second pre-
cinct of the coming of the enemy. When the latter arrived
they attempted to repeat the tactics that had failed them
at the other place. But meeting a greater number of
opponents with more threatening consequences, they
withdrew here without getting in a vote, and started back
to make an attempt to vole in the Fifth Ward. Our side
quickly concentrated our extra men and fighting force
at the precincts in this ward, and the gang of repeaters
was as easily driven aAvay from there as a lot of tres-
passing hens from a garden patch. Here they quit trying
to vote, or giving any further attention to the election.
They seized the rigs supplied to convey them from polling
place to polling place, and used them in joy-riding about
the town and suburbs. We knew then that the battle was
over and that the fight had been won. So it proved when
the count was in, and the result was declared that our
side carried the day by a large vote. All our fights
were not won as easily as the one just described, nor did
we always come out victorious, but the incidents related
in the description of this primary affair will give some
idea of the election contests we had to engage in.

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liccollcclioiis of (I i\cii>.sj)(ijf('rii)(lii

I cxixci I Icll .1 ^icaU r iiilcicsl in (lie oulromc of the
priiiKiiy clctiion just (Icsciihcd, on jkcoiimI oI ils bcMriii^
on llic sclcclioii ol" ;i Tnilcd Slates Senator". The winniiif^
of the eli'c'tion put into (lie liands ol liicnds of Senator
(leori^e C. Perkins the power ol nominating the h-^isla-
tive candi<lates from our county who wouhl support the
Senator for that high ollice. Our defeat would have
meant that the legishitive nominees elected froni the dis-
tricts in the contest would have supported another man.
I had formed a strong Iriendsliip for Senator Perkins.
Our acquaintance began when lie was State Senator from
Butte County, and was renewed on more intimate rela-
tions when he subsequently became Governor of the
state and I was a member of the Legislature. In both of
these positions he gained a popularity rarely acquired
by men in public life. He was broad minded and gen-
erous in the extreme. All his votes as Senator and his
acts as Governor were actuated by the highest principles.
He was approachable and unaffected in his manner, ever
ready to champion the cause of the weak and the
wronged. His elevation to the high oilices did not cause
him to forget the friends or associates of his days in
humble life. I consider Senator Perkins one of the most
appreciative men 1 have ever met. He seems never to
forget any favor done in his behalf, political or other
kind, and never appears satisfied until he is able to make
some substantial showing of his gratitude. His generosity
was remarkable. What he has done in contributing to
the support of charitable institutions, the relief of indi-
viduals and families, and in aid of character-building
institutions, would surprise the people of California. He
was lirst appointed to the United Stales Senate by the
Governor of our state, to fill an unexpired term, and then
was subsequently elected to five consecutive terms by the
Legislature. This is a record of service at the national
capital never before attained in representation of this

— 2S0 —

Newspaper Life in Oakland

state. This long, continuous service, together with his
traits of character and manner of dealing with people,
gained for him an influence, a power, and a standing in
Washington that are exceptional and unusual, and of
untold benefit to this state and the Pacific Coast. I felt
it always a duty as well as a personal pleasure to aid his
candidacy at each of his campaigns, and in reviewing
the political experiences of my life I find no greater grati-
fication in any part than in the work and time given in
assistance at his elections.

I gave much time to political work while I was man-
aging the Enquirer. At every election we made as vig-
orous a fight in the paper as we possibly could; I attended
caucuses and acted with committees delegated to manage
the details of the campaigns and solicit funds; I have
acted as challenger in bad precincts when others were
reluctant to act. I was always treated well, even when
on one occasion I detected an election official, whose duty
was to receive the votes, substituting ballots of the oppo-
sition for ballots handed to him by voters from our side
to be deposited in the ballot box. I snatched a ballot
from his hand as he was about to drop it in the box and
handed it to the voter, who declared it was not the vote
he handed in. The delinquent was hustled out of his
position by his own crowd upon my request, and that
was all there was to it.

I think I must say that for the first few years of my
active participation in political affairs, especially while
it was optional with me, I rather enjoyed this excitement.
In later years, when the objects involved matters of
greater importance and my close personal attention
seemed to me to be imperative, I recognized the approach
of each campaign with regret, and had aversion and
reluctance to discussions of any subjects involving local
politics. I know this feeling was an important factor
in my decision to sell the Enquirer when opportunity

— 281 —

liccollcclioiis of (I X('insi>af)f'rfn(in

cMinc. I li;i(l IxMii :iii iiclixc |);irlici|);inl in politics for
more lli;m lliirly yciirs. Diirini^ llicsc ycnrs I held some
ol1ic-i;iI |)()sili()ns, htil in no cjiscs were they objccls of my
own srckini^. In iiddilion lo llic j)osilions n.inicd in the
foregoing record I was ai)j)()inlcd by President Harrison
to act on the Assay Commission in February, 1801. This
is a commission tliat meets annually, appointed by the
President to examine the samples of the coinage of all
the mints of the United States for the calendar year
previous. It is the duty of the commission to determine
if the coinage is executed in accordance with the provi-
sions of law, in the matter of weights of the coins and
the standard fineness of the metals. The duties of the
commissioners are nearly always completed within three
to five days, and the stay at the Mint Building at Phila-
delphia, where the commission meets, is always made as
agreeable as possible. No compensation is attached to
the duties, but all the expenses of the commissioners,
coming and going, and while at Philadelphia, are paid
by the government. Little did 1 think then that sixteen
years later 1 would be in attendance at the meetings of
the commissions as the directing official, but of that expe-
rience I will speak later. I think it was some time in
1888 or 1889 that there was to be a change in the post-
mastership of the Oakland office, and the position was
tendered to me, but I declined the honor and persisted
in my determination, though the matter was held open
a couple of months with the expectation that I would
change my mind. I fully appreciated the compliment and
friendly act involved in the tender.

Along in the nineties (I do not recall the exact time),
the Enquirer took up a subject which proved to be a
matter of the greatest importance, and eventually resulted
in an advantage and gain to the city that the most san-
guine little looked for or anticipated. The Oakland
Water Front Company, a side corporation of the railroad
— 282 —

Newspaper Life in Oakland

company, claimed and had been in possession of nearly
all the water front of Oakland for many years. The com-
pany obtained its title to the property from parties who
claimed it through grant from the state. The validity
had never been questioned through process of law, and
probably never would have been had not the water front
company felt so secure in its holdings, and had it adopted
a liberal policy in making tenns with people and firms
who desired to purchase or lease portions of the property.
The railroad company probably thought it necessary in
fostering its own business to use the water front company
as a kind of wall around the city, beyond which no freight
or passenger could be moved by others without its con-
sent. This policy was manifest in the leases granted by
the water front company, by provisions prohibiting the
lessees from handling any freight other than for them-
selves over the property granted them, and prohibiting
any passenger traffic. However, it was not everybody
who could secure a lease, even upon such arbitrary terms,
and the leases granted could not be assigned to others
without the consent of the Water Front Company. No one
could obtain the use of any part of the land whose busi-
ness the railroad company considered as interfering with
its revenues. As Oakland began to grow^ in a commercial
way these restrictions were felt and were looked upon
as a most serious obstruction to expansion of commerce
on our shores, independent of the railroad's business.
The subject was frequently discussed in the editorial room
of the Enquirer, with a view to finding some way of
overcoming the selfish policy of the railroad company.
Finally it was decided that we should undertake an inves-
tigation of the records of the city, county, and state, and
carefully inspect every step taken in the proceedings
whereby the title went from the state into the possession
of individuals, and thence into the ownership of the
railroad company. It was a big undertaking and required

— 283 —

Hrcollrclioiis of <i ScivsjxijxTnxu}

ni;iiiy weeks of lime. Me. Nve did the ^r( ;ilei- pari ol the
work, which sj)eMks loi- Ihe Ijiiincss and Ihoroiif^huess of
it. Ill Jiddilion, nil l;i\vs and decisions relating' to tide-
land property were read. The conclusion that was
ri'aehed, aflei' all (his work, was that the title ol the
raih'oad c'oni|)any was weak. The Let^islatnre. in the early
liities, had conveyed the land to the city, hut the convey-
ance from the city to the private individuals seemed to
us to have been consummated unlawfully. In fact, it
appeared to us that the valuable street ends of four or
five streets (including Broadway) had never been con-
veyed by the city to any person or corporation. I may
say here that subsequently Mayor George C. Pardee, with
assistants, took forcible possession of the Broadway end
and it has remained in possession of the city ever since.
We also concluded that if the title could not be upset, at
least the barrier around the city, established by the water
front company leases, could be broken down. The situa-
tion at least warranted, and in fact demanded, that the
city attack the legality of the railroad's claim to the tide-
land. If the city failed in this, then the lease-hold policy
could be attacked. When the facts of our investigation
had been whipped into shape, we gave them to the public,
taking two pages of the Enquirer for the purpose. It is
hardly necessary to say that the publication aroused great
interest in the subject. Public opinion soon prompted
the city authorities to commence legal action to regain
the water front. The city employed able attorneys, and
the railroad company put its best men foi-Avard in defense
of its title. It was one of the greatest legal battles ever
fought out in the courts of Alameda. The matter was in
the courts for years. When the railroad found that the
citizens of the east side of the bay had become aroused
over the w-ater front situation, and were in deadly earnest
in their purpose to unbottle the City of Oakland and
smash the bottle, they proposed to pacify the public by
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Newspaper Life in Oakland

eliminating the objectionable prohibitive clauses in the
leases, and sell, unconditionally, water front property
that might be wanted by others and was not necessary
to the plans of the railroad company for its business. The
chief attorney for the company sent me word that, when
in San Francisco, he would like to see me and discuss
the situation. In the interview that followed he said that
the present management of the company realized the
error of the existing policy, and were now willing to sell
and lease the water front property without the unpopular
conditions. The company did subsequently announce
this policy, and changed outstanding leases to comply with
the more liberal plans. 1 told the attorney that there
was a strong feeling running through the community of
Oakland to the effect that the city had been unlawfully
deprived of its water front, yet I did not think that this
sentiment would ever have reached a stage serious to
the interests of the corporation, had not the latter insisted
upon the barrier around the city. Now it was too late
to try to divert the city from its determination to try to
win back the property. The company had delayed too
long in correcting the evil. The matter would now have
to be threshed out in the courts.

In the end, while the city did not gain all it set up a
claim for, the result was of tremendous advantage and
benefit to the community, and all that was necessary to
insure the city's control of the water front for all future
time. The city was confirmed in its claims for a small
portion of the water front, from the high land to low
water mark, and certain street endings, including the
foot of Broadway, which were seized by Mayor Pardee.
The final decision confirmed generally the title of the
railroad company to that part of the water front embrac-
ing the strip between high land and low tide. It denied
to the corporation the control or title to the property
between low tide mark and ship channel, awarding such

— 285 —

Recollections of a Neivspaperman

rights lo llic city. Practically the city obtained all it
waiiicd and needed. The result of that contest will f^row
in inij)orlancc each year for many, many years to come.
It was a costly affair, but the value of properly recovered
and the benefit to the city made the cost a small matter
in comparison. Throuf^h the advantage of controlling its
own water front, we can only speculate now on the enor-
mous benefits that will yet accrue to the city. The part
that Mayors Pardee and Mott played in this matter will
ever remain a most important feature in the history of
the growth and progress of Oakland.

— 286 —

CHAPTER XIV

IN THE SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT

Appointed Mint Superintendent — Retirement from Jour-
nalism— Incidents in the Management of the San
Francisco Mint — Wm. J. Burns, Famous Detective —
Story of a Remarkable Crime— Theft of $150,000.

When Justice McKenna resigned his position as Con-
gressman to accept the appointment as a United States
Judge of the Circuit Court, S. G. Hilborn, a resident of
Oakland, but formerly for many years a resident of Val-
lejo, was ambitious to succeed to the position of Congress-
man. Mr. Hilborn had been prominent in political affairs
and was a lawyer of considerable reputation. He had
served Solano County in minor positions and also in the
state Senate. He had represented the government as
United States Attorney for the northern district of Cali-
fornia, and had been prominent in the councils of the
Republican party. He had been successful as a lawyer
and a politician, and altogether was an able man. He
was not particularly active, but a plodder with great
tenacity of purpose. During the first years of my resi-
dence in Vallejo my relations with him had been intimate
and most agreeable, and I had always been his warm
supporter in all political contests. Rut when 1 became
a candidate for the Legislature for the second term,
against the wishes of Mr. Farnham, as heretofore related,
much to my surprise, Mr. Hilborn was one of the
few Vallejoites who made an effort to defeat me for
the nomination. As 1 won and he did not carry his oppo-
sition farther than the nominating convention, the breach
was easily bridged over when he wanted to go to Congress.

— 287 —

liccoUrclions of <i Nt'insjxtjx'rnuiu

He \\;is known to he ;in ;il)lc ni;in, l.-iniiliar' with llic diilics
ol' the oHifc, :in(l who would l;o Io W'.isliin^ton hctler
('((iii|)|)('(l lor llic |)ui|)osc, i^cncnilly, lli:in any ;iv;iil;ihle
in;in in the disliict on Ihc IU'|)iil)Iic-;in side |-"or these
reasons, ho reach ly received the support of the I'^nqiiirrr,
and after a liard fifjlit received the nomination for tlie
unexpired term and lor the regular term to follow, hut
the terms were xolcd for separately at the same election,
with the strange result that he was defeated lor the short
term hy the Democratic candidate, but was elected over
his opponent for the regular term. Following this term
he was again nominated and elected to succeed himself,
after another strenuous fight. We had a terrific opposi-
tion to overcome, backed as it was with ample funds
and some of the ablest and shrewdest politicians on this
side of the bay. It was at this primary election that I
detected the election otlicer in the act of depositing fraud-
ulent votes in the ballot box. Of course, the satisfaction
of winning such contests was very great. The Enquirer
gained no small amount of prestige from the part it had
taken in the matter. The success of the paper in political
matters had an unpleasant side as well, which as time
went along became very annoying to me, and was a
matter that played no small part in my decision to sell
the paper when an otter was made to purchase it. The
almost unbroken record of success of the candidates
receiving the support of the Enquirer gave the idea to
many, ambitious to hold ofTice, that all they had to do to
gratify their desires was to secure the support of our
paper. We were continually being importuned to sup-
port this man and that man for various ofilces. Some
were good men and would have made satisfactory offi-
cials, but there were more that had no fitness. Of course
it was useless to go into details and explain to each appli-
cant that the Enquirer was not supporting candidates
because of any personal interest in them; that its support
— 288 —

In the Service of the Government

was given to men because of their special fitness for the
duties they would be called upon to fulfill; that the
Enquirer did not make the selections of candidates; that
was the work of the faction of the party which thought
it was working to better political conditions in Oakland
and Alameda County. My personal position in the rela-
tion of things was becoming too much like that of a boss
in politics. I could plainly see the paper was working
into a position, although imbued with the best of motives,
where it would, with seeming justification, be accused of
building up a condition of leadership in one faction that
it was warring against, and trying to destroy in another.
The thought was very disturbing to my peace of mind,
and the worst of it was that I could formulate no satis-
factory remedy. It was about this time, in May, 1897,
after the inauguration of President McKinley, that I was
greatly surprised to receive a telegram from Washington,
signed by Congressman Hilborn, informing me that I was
the choice of the delegation for the position of Superin-
tendent of the United States mint in San Francisco, and
desiring to know if I would accept the office. After taking
a day to consider the matter, I decided to accept, conclud-
ing that the appointment would make it easier for me
to get out of the newspaper business, and I wired an
acceptance. I was appointed on the recommendation of
Senator Perkins, and confirmed by the Senate in the
month of June of that year, but I did not present my com-
mission until August 1, that my predecessor. Honorable
John Daggett, might fill out a four years' term of office.
I found the duties to be agreeable and the work most
interesting in character, which made me more anxious
to be rid of the newspaper business, that I might give
my whole attention to the new occupation. The oppor-
tunity came within a very short time. I sold the paper
to G. B. Daniels and turned over my stock to him. It was
with some feelings of regret, however, that I surrendered

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Recollections of a Newspaperman

flic |)i()i)orly I li;i(l worked so luiid to liiiild iij), and espe-
cially did I led sadness in severing the inliinale and close
relations llial had existed lor years between myself" and
my loyal, zealous, and able co-laborers. However, the
paper had accomplished the work it had set out to do,
and 1 felt at liberty to turn it over to the control of other
hands, especially as it was promised that the policy of
the paper would not be changed, and Mr. Nye, although
he had also sold his interest, was to remain as editor.
The transfer took place in 1898. At first 1 hardly knew
how to deport myself, after being so suddenly released
from the numerous cares and duties that I had been
methodically performing daily for years. I can not
describe the sensation of relief. While in the business,
every day and every moment of the hours when awake
demanded my time in some form of thought or action,
and nothing leisurely. Everything was done with the
greatest speed, that all expected of me might be accom-
plished. Going on for over thirty years, this business
practice had almost become a habit of life.

It w^as my privilege, as Superintendent of the mint, to
participate in the administration of one of the most inter-
esting eras of the coinage history of our country. In this
was embraced the record of the greatest volume of gold
coinage; the introduction of the Philippine coinage; the
radical change in designs of our gold coins; the adoption
of the new electrolytic method of refining, and the first
introduction of improved machinery and methods in
coinage operations. In short, these were the years of the
greatest activity of the mints of the United States.

When I became Superintendent in 1897, the mint
contained six steam engines, located in various parts
of the building, to supply the power required to operate
the machinery and appliances used in refining and coin-
age operations. Electricity for power purposes was not
yet in general use; the practicability of long transmission
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In the Service of the Government

lines at low cost had not been fully worked out. Even
at the high cost of electric power of those days, I consid-
ered that it would be more economical to discard all the
steam engines and adopt the plan of individual electric
motors, so as to be able to apply power singly to the
machines as they might be needed in coinage operations.
My recommendation was accepted and approved by the
authorities at Washington. I arranged to change from
steam to electricity so that there was no interference with
the operations of the mint whatever. The old style of
coke and coal melting furnaces, which had been the form
used ever since the government erected the first mint in
1793, were discarded and replaced with furnaces in which
gas and crude oil were used for fuel. Modern water tube
boilers, with fuel oil burners, replaced the old-fashioned
tubular boilers of the power plant. Relating these facts
calls to mind an interesting and rather amusing experi-
ence we had with some charcoal dealers not long after
I became Superintendent. The mint was using about
$250 worth of charcoal monthly. At the letting of annual
contracts for supplies, a certain dealer in wood and coal
was the successful bidder on the charcoal item at $11
per ton, which was about what the government had been
paying for previous years' supplies. There were other
bids, ranging from $15 to $16 per ton. As is usual in such
cases, the contract was awarded to the lowest bidder, who
offered to supply the coal for $11 per ton. The con-
tractor gave a bond for the faithful performance of his
agreement, and for about a month supplied the charcoal
as ordered by the mint authorities, when he came to me
and regretfully said that he would have to default on his
contract and sacrifice the amount of his bond, otherwise
the men who were controlling the charcoal business
would ruin him. He said that he was able to get enough
charcoal to fill his contract, independent of his opponents,
but that they had enough influence to prevent wholesalers

— 291 —

Recollections of a Newspapcnnou

scllirif^ liiin wood ;in(l sonic kinds of co.il. I pon in(]uiry
I found lli;il wo were iisin<4 fluircoiil Jilinosl (jxclusivcly lo
start the tires in the metal melting furnaces. Thereujx)!!
I told the contractor that he need not worry about his
bond. The government would let the contract stand in
force for the year, but would not call upon him to fur-
nish any more charcoal, as in fact it would not use any
more. The gratitude and appreciation of release from
the unpleasant position in which he had been, and the
saving of the bond were made manifest by the hearty
shake of my hand. I ordered a cord of four-foot pine
wood cut into six-inch lengths. At the mint, these blocks
were split up into ordinary kindling, and the melters
were told to use this kindling thereafter in place of the
charcoal, and when laying their fires they would be per-
mitted to soak the wood with coal oil, if necessary. Some
of the old hands said it would be impossible to start the
fires in that manner, but when asked why could only
say, "It never has been done that way." However, upon
the whole, the men entered into the spirit of the change
and after the first morning discarded the use of coal oil,
and as long as the coke and coal furnaces were in use in
the mint the hands never used another lot of charcoal,
and would not have used it as a matter of preference had
there been a supply on hand. In the course of a month
or more afterward the spokesman of the charcoal com-
bine called on me and offered me a supply at a reduced
figure, which of course I declined. He pointed out that
the government could not get it from any other source.
When I said that that might be so, he asked, why wouldn't
we buy it from him. 1 replied, "Because we are done
with using charcoal in the mint, especially when we can
make $8 worth of pine answer the purpose of $250 worth
of charcoal." The man was speechless. I never saw him
again.

Some years before I became Superintendent, the depart-
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In the Service of the Government

ment at Washington had directed that anthracite coal be
used under the steam generating boilers, as this coal gave
off no appreciable amount of smoke. The neighborhood
had been making complaint of being annoyed by the
smoke from the bituminous coals used. I knew of a
lignite, remarkably free from smoke, mined in Oregon,
which made an excellent fuel for steam boilers. 1 was
able to have this coal laid down in the mint at about one-
quarter of the cost of anthracite. Of course it required
more pounds of the lignite to produce a given amount of
steam than anthracite, yet the change netted the govern-
ment a saving of over $700 per month in the cost of steam
fuel. After the great development of oil wells in Cali-
fornia, the cost of fuel was reduced to a still lower notch
by the introduction of oil burners under the boilers and
the use of oil as a fuel.

I think I found about as much interest in the operations
of the refining department as anywhere else in the mint.
With the discovery of the rich gold deposits on the
Yukon River, bringing, as it did, a very great addition to
the gold deposits at our institution, the importance of the
refinery operations was correspondingly increased. The
department was originally equipped with a plant for the
nitric acid process. Subsequently a small sulphuric acid
plant was added, when it was found that the process with
the latter acid was more economical. When the gold
deposits were so largely increased by the influx from the
Far North, the old nitric plant was torn out to give place
to the addition needed by the later-adopted process. All
the wood work of the old plant was burned and the metal
parts were melted, and from the ashes and meltings we
recovered gold and silver of considerably greater value
than the cost of the new addition to the refinery. Prior
to this time, but little attention was given to saving the
copper sulphate, which was a by-product in the opera-
tions of the refinery. A few crystallizing tanks had been

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Recollections of a Newspaperman

provided, hiil llic nuinbor was insufTicicnl, iiiid even then
the sohilioii was liiriicd into the tanks only wiun the
refinery liands could he spared I'cjr the purpose. At other
times the solution of copper sulphate went down into the
sewers. The idea was that the cost of crystallizing? the
solution would not be met by the returns from the sale of
blueslone or coi)per sulphate. A complete system of tanks,
pumps, and drying houses was installed, and all the solu-
tion was converted into bluestone and readily sold to
consumers and dealers. Several thousand dollars per
year were saved to the government by taking care of and
marketing this by-product. The law required that the
refineries of the mint should be operated as near to cost
as possible, so that the cost of refining gold and silver,
which is borne by the depositors, shall be reduced to the
smallest possible figure without loss to the government.
My predecessor had to deal with an extravagant organi-
zation when he took possession of the mint. The refinery
had run behind in the previous four years and piled up
a deficit of $82,230. He had made a decided improve-
ment in conditions, but was unable, through the small
volume of business, to place the refinery on a self-sustain-
ing basis. However, his deficit for four years was only
$15,361. In the first four years of my administration the
earnings were $205,943, and cost of operation $206,205, a
difference of only $262. Through the refinery having been
operated at a loss for more than tw^enty years, there was
a deficit of about $150,000. There was only one way to
make this amount good, and that was to increase the
earnings and reduce the cost of operations, which I did,
so that before I resigned my position in 1907 the total
deficit was wiped off the books by the annual credit of
surplus earnings.

After the first six years of my administration as Super-
intendent, I had occasion to make an investigation of cost
operation in the coinage department and wastage for that
— 2H —

In the Service of the Government

period. I found that in that time, we had handled
$1,200,000,000 of gold. The law recognizes the difficulty
in handling gold without some wastage, and fixes the
limit of allowance of loss in melting at .001 per cent, and
in coinage .0005 per cent; and our legal wastage with
these limitations could have been $900,000 in the six
years, whereas it was only $6361. In the matter of
coinage and cost per piece turned out, the result also was
gratifying to us all. Although the amount appropriated
by Congress for coinage purposes for the San Francisco
mint during the six years of my administration had been
but little more than had been allowed for corresponding
periods during three previous administrations, yet we had
been able to produce nearly double the number of pieces
of coin, or practically double the coinage. What was
more satisfactory was that the cost per piece had been
reduced from 4 cents and 6 mills to 1 cent and 6 mills,
for the three years' work from 1902 to 1905.

The mint work was interesting from several stand-
points, and not least were the metallurgical problems
that frequently developed. They had to be worked out
for the reason that there was little in technical books to
direct us or to explain the difficulties. Our greatest trou-
bles began when bullion from cyanide plants became
common in deposits. At first the miners did not appre-
ciate the necessity of freeing their product from zinc that
became associated with the gold in the process of recov-
ery, and its presence in the bullion not only made it
difficult to determine accurately the value of the gold by
assaying, but whenever any of the zinc or lead failed of
elimination in the refining operation, there was trouble
in the coining rooms when the operators there had to
make the bullion into coin. It is remarkable how small a
quantity of these impurities would make the gold unfit
for coinage. As much as one part of lead or zinc to 999
of gold would render the metal absolutely unworkable

— 295 —

lirrollrctionx of <i Nrinspaprrmdn

ill llu' coiiiM^c room. I have seen f^old ingots, cast for the
making of doiiljlc eagles, or Iwenty-dollar pieces, so brit-
tle from llie presence of a small amount of these imi)iiri-
ticR lliat lliey would break in pieces when dropped on the
stone floor of the rolling room. All problems of this
character were clinnnated when the electrolytic method
of refining was substituted for the sulphuric acid process.
The metal refined by electrolysis was converted to a
practically pure state.

Not long after the cyanide process for gold recovery
was in general use, a man came into the Superintendent's
ofTice and introduced himself as a miner and mine owner
from the State of Nevada. He said he had a very private
matter that he wanted to discuss with me, as he had been
told that 1 could help him out of his difficulties. He first
asked the privilege of shutting the office door so that his
conversation could not be overheard by persons outside.
Then he went on to say that he was sure that one of the
largest and most responsible firms of bullion buyers in
the city had been robbing him. He said that the bullion
he had been shipping to this firm was a combination of
gold and silver, with considerably greater quantity of
silver than gold. The shipments were made about one per
month, and until the last three months the returns from
the buyers had been very satisfactory, agreeing with the
mine manager's assay, but that during the last three
months, there had been a decided falling off" in the buyers'
allow^ance for silver contents of his bullion. In reply to
my inquiry, he said that the allowance for gold was all
right. He also said that he had a very superior chemist
in charge of his cyanide plant. When I asked the mining
man how long this new and very "superior chemist" had
been in his employ, he replied that he had secured him
about three months before. His confidence in the "supe-
rior" ability of his new man was so great he had not
noticed that the beginning of the period of his complaint
— 296 —

In the Service of the Government

of losses was about the time of the introduction of the
new man in his works. In further response to my ques-
tions as to the details of operating his cyanide plant, he
went on to tell me how the new man "soaked" the pre-
cipitates from the cyanide solution (which, of course, was
the product of gold and silver from his ores) "in strong
sulphuric acid for twenty-four hours," explaining that
this final treatment of the bullion eliminated the zinc and
other impurities that might be there. I then asked him
what he did with the acid after it had been drawn off
from the precious metals, or after he was through with
the "soaking" process. "Oh," said he, "we throw it
away!" I explained to him that the silver in the finely
divided state was almost as soluble in the acid as the zinc,
so that his "very superior chemist" had been throwing
away a good part of his silver with the acid, and thus, in
all probability, his suspicion of wrong doing on the part
of the bullion buyers was unwarranted. He was dazed
for a moment, and when he recovered his speech said
that he "didn't see how his man could make such a blun-
der, as he was a thorough chemist, having worked in a
drug store all his life !" He thanked me, but I never saw
him again. However, I think there was a "superior chem-
ist" who lost his job on short notice.

A very strange and interesting feature in relation to
volatilization of precious metal arose while I was investi-
gating the extent of furnace losses in the metal process
of the coinage operations. I discovered one day that
gold and silver in a finely divided state, but in globular
form, were being deposited on the floor of the mint court,
which is in the center of the building. A sweeping of the
roof and gutters of the building gave a very good return
in gold and silver. Such of the furnaces as were not
equipped with dust and vapor-arrcsting chambers I imme-
diately had rebuilt, adding the gold and silver saving
device. The first year's saving inore than paid for the

— 297 —

lircollcclifms of a Newspaperman

cxpcMiso. Tpoii lookiiif^ into llu; subject further I found
that the luelals, when coiuh'nsed from the vapor forni,
assumed tlie shnpc of perfect f^lohuhs. lu this case they
were so niiiuile (hat it recjuired the use of a microscope
to sec them. I found j)reci()us metals inside the mellinf^
rooms, on all wall or other projections that would hold
dust, as well as in adjacent rooms, in addition to that
found in the court and on the roof. While there might
be some question as to the form in which the gold was
drawn up through the furnace chimneys and deposited
in minute spheres on the roof and court of the building,
there seems little room for argument that the metal was
projected from the melting pots thirty feet or more across
the room to find lodgment on the walls in the form of
these minute globules, while other globules were being
drawn up the chimneys as solids. A force strong enough
to overcome the draft of the chimneys would have sent
the globules with such force that the working men stand-
ing between the melting pots and walls, seemingly would
have been struck by some of the little pellets of gold and
silver if in solid form while in movement. No such sensa-
tion was ever experienced nor did we find any evidence
of the metals leaving the furnace in solid form. The
best explanation I have heard is that the metal in gaseous
or vapor form, soon after its release from the heat which
vaporized it, first returned to liquid form, in which, by
surface contraction, it would be forced into globular form,
when the cool atmosphere would quickly solidify it,
returning it by the same steps through a cooling atmos-
phere, from gas to a solid, as by which, through heat, it
passed from a solid to gas.

T. A. Rickard, the talented editor of the Mining and
Scientific Press of San Francisco, asked me if I knew why
some gold coins fresh from the mint possessed a slight
greenish tinge. I had some experiment? made to deter-
mine the cause, and found that a decided green color
— 29S —

In the Service of the Government

could be given to gold by adding silver in certain propor-
tions to it. We knew that the presence of silver in gold
bullion influenced the shades of its color, and the presence
of copper had the same effect, and naturally attributed a
green shade to the copper; but to our great surprise, after
experiments in making many different combinations of
pure gold, silver, and copper, we were unable to develop
any bullion of a decided green color until we entirely
eliminated the copper and melted together 700 parts of
gold with 300 parts of silver. This combination gave a
decidedly light shade of green. We obtained a decidedly
darker shade of green by combining 900 parts of gold
with only 100 parts of silver. To account for the green
appearance of some gold coin it must be explained that
the regulations allowed the presence of ten parts of silver
out of 1000 parts of gold bullion to remain with the gold
that was prepared for coinage, it being impractical, with
the refining processes in use in those days, to remove all
the silver from the crude bullion. It was always taken
into account, when adding the copper for alloy, that of
silver and copper there should not be more than the 10
per cent fixed by law. The blanks or disks cut for coins,
before being stamped or pressed, were annealed, which
is a process that requires heating the blanks up to a
cherry red. This caused the particles of copper in the
surface of the blanks to form the black oxide of copper.
As the oxide is quite soluble, the subsequent dropping of
the blanks that had been heated into a bath of diluted
acid removed all the copper from the surface of the
blanks, leaving in place a film of gold combined with
what silver was left in the metal by the refiners, which
frequently came near amounting to 1 per cent, and suffi-
cient, under the procedure described, to impart a greenish
shade to the coins. Why a white metal combined with
a yellow metal should produce a green color I was unable
to explain, a determination of the matter being beyond

— 2.99 —

lirrollrcfionx of a Nnnsfxiprrnian

our cqiiipnitnl for iiiv(slif»;ilion. Tlic cxpcric'nccs men-
tioned are samples of llie many we liad, and are given
to illustrate the character of problems and mailers with
which wc had to deal.

Allogelher, I suppose I had Ihe most varied, exciting,
and interesting, as well as distracting experiences of any
other mint Superintendent that was ever commissioned
in the United Slates. I have not attempted to relate all
the incidents pertaining to my administration, especially
some of the unpleasant matters involving acts of dishonest
employees. The facts are matter of record, the offending
parties in most cases were punished and arc now trying
to earn an honest living, and 1 would not say a word or
write a line that would hinder or embarrass them in their
praiseworthy efforts. Under the law that makes the
Superintendent responsible for all losses of every charac-
ter, my bondsmen had to make good to the government
the theft of $30,000 in 1900, and in turn I had to deed over
to the bonding company my real estate in Oakland which
included the old homestead. I wanted the company to
take some valuable mining property instead of the home
place, but the company was afraid of mines and insisted
on taking the Oakland property. However, this apparent
misfortune was not a lasting one. A relief bill was intro-
duced in Congress which had the indorsement of the Sec-
retary of the Treasury and Director of the Mint, and the
active support of Senator Perkins and Congressman
Knowland. Much to my surprise and gratification, the
measure was passed by both houses in the session of its
introduction and was promptly signed by the President.
It was the first time that a bill of this character, relating
to a Pacific Coast beneficiary, was made a law in so short
a time. Usually Congress takes from ten to fifteen years,
or more, for consideration of acts of this kind of relief.
It w^as due to the earnest work and influence of Senator
Perkins and Congressman Knowland that an exception
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In the Service of the Government

was made in this case. The appropriation enabled me to
repay the surety company and receive deeds for the return
of the property I had turned over to it a few months
before. It was in connection with the loss of the -$30,000
and the ferreting out of the party responsible for it that
I became acquainted with William J. Burns, now of inter-
national reputation as the greatest of detectives. The
friendship begun then has continued until this day. I
should have said that he gave no small aid in the passage
by Congress of the relief bill in my interest, when men-
tioning those to whom I was especially indebted for the
enactment of that measure. I saw much of Mr. Burns in
after years when he was prosecuting the Oregon land
fraud cases for the government, and was able to render
him some assistance in the famous San Francisco graft
cases. When the scene of his activities was transferred
to the Atlantic states and his business called him at times
to San Francisco, he never failed to pay me a visit. Mr.
Burns is a man of fine personality, polished, and an
intensely interesting conversationalist; a man of high
ideals, and incorruptible; he is endowed with a power
of insight into human nature, an intuition, and a judg-
ment of the acts of men that are something wonderful.
These qualities, coupled with his utter lack of fear and
a tenacity of purpose without limit, are the broad basis
on which his great reputation rests.

In 1905 Mr. Burns gave me considerable assistance in a
matter of investigation which I had been directed by
the department to make. This was in the United States
assay office at Seattle, where there existed some evidence
of wrong doing on the part of some one connected with
the institution. The case turned out to be one of very
great importance, and the incidents involved gave it a
character of unusual interest. At this time most of
the deposits of gold made at the assay office were in the
form of gold dust, nearly all of which came from the

— 301 —

lircollrrtioiis of a Nnnspaprrman

mines in Ahiskji. (lold in this lorni always carries a small
per cent of i)lack sand, which the miners can not elimi-
nate from the gold dust without washinf^ out the little
fine particles of gold associated with it. When the gold
dust is melted into bars by the government, or any one,
for that matter, the sand goes of! with the flux, and of
course the gold, after melting, will weigh less than gold
dust before melting, to the extent of the said elimination.
I had made quite a study in our work at the mint of these
apparent losses, and had found that the average loss
should not exceed 5 per cent. So when complaint reached
the Washington authorities from depositors at the Seattle
assay office that they were suffering greater losses than
they thought they should, I was directed to make an inves-
tigation of the matter. I was quite certain that something
was wrong there. I took with me to assist in the work on
this errand Lee Kerfoot, an exceedingly bright young
employee of the mint. He was a graduate of the Univer-
sity of California, with experience in the melting of gold
and dealing with the metallurgical problems arising from
the work. My first step was to look over the institution
and find out how the place was conducted, expecting
to find the leak where there was laxity in adherence to
the regulations. I found the office part of the work seem-
ingly carried on with excellent system, and with every
regard for the regulations and check required, but in the
melting rooms, so far as proper supervision and care
against dishonest losses were concerned, things were
loosely conducted. For this reason I began the investi-
gation in this department. Mr. Burns had assigned two
first-class men to assist me, whom I detailed to run down
the habits, past and present, of all employees of the melt-
ing room. This required about two weeks' work. In the
meantime, Mr. Kerfoot and I were making experiments
and taking notes of the daily operations in the melting
room as if we expected to find the cause of the undue
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In the Service of the Government

losses accountable to imskilfulness and carelessness in
the melting operations. I personally took the weight of
each deposit as it went to the melting room, and there
every handling was closely watched by Mr. Kerfoot, until
the deposit after melting came back and was weighed by
me, and the losses in melting noted. Notwithstanding this
care and watchfulness, at the end of each day's work the
sum of the losses exceeded what experience told us
should occur. It was plain that the stealing was still
being practiced, notwithstanding our presence. The reali-
zation of this fact made us feel as if the fellow who was
guilty of the dishonest work thought he was so shrewd
and had his tracks so well covered that he could safely
continue his stealing during our presence there, and was
practically laughing in our faces. It was as if we were
challenged to a contest in which the unknown was put-
ting his skill and shrewdness against our wit. The thought,
no doubt, acted as a spur in our determination to locate
the thief. The reports of the detectives failed to show
anything that would indicate that the workmen investi-
gated were leading any other than normal lives. In fact,
their characters and habits proved to be beyond criticism.
Two weeks or more had passed without having discovered
the slightest clue, and I was becoming discouraged, for
in whatever direction we prodded it was without result,
and the losses were going on daily with a regularity that
was hard to accept as caused by dishonesty. One morn-
ing, while contemplating the situation and mentally going
over all the procedures in receiving, melting, and deposit-
ing of the bullion that was being tampered with, I was
reminded that all the deposits that came in the afternoon
did not come direct to me to be sent out to the melting
room, but were taken in charge by the cashier, and by
him placed in the vault over night and then given to the
melters in the morning. Instantly I felt that the path
leading to a solution of the matter had been discovered.

— 303 —

h'ccollcclioiis of (I \('U>S[)(if)('rni(in

I .iin sure lli;it if any one had noliccd iiic at that nioinciit
I would have hclrnycd llic excited slate ol my mind. I
immediately went to the hooks and madi- (aleulalions of
the losses on the morning deposit receipts that went direct
to the melting room, and, as I expected, found the losses
normal, and when I figured the losses on the afternoon
deposit receipts that were taken in charge by the cashier
and put in the vault over night I found them to run about
3 per cent greater than they should. I had been looking
for the trouble in the wrong department. Here was a
trail leading in another direction. It was not only a plain
trail, but I could make out the man who had made it —
none other than the cashier. Through little inquiry, I
found out that the cashier was in the habit of coming
down to the office a half hour or more before the time
of beginning work and opening up the office, for the
purpose, he said, of getting out the deposits kept in the
vault over night so that the melters would not be delayed
in starting their labors for the day. I knew^ then that he
used this time to rob the deposits, and to do this without
detection he had to make a substitution of black sand in
weight for the gold removed. During the cashier's absence
to lunch, I managed to get access to the vault and found
the balances, or scales, in a tin box, which were neces-
sary to weigh the gold in making the substitution. It
was imperative for the success of his scheme that the
deposits should w^eigh exactly the same, when he turned
them over to the head melter, as when they were received
the day before by the receiving clerk. We soon found
that he used a dark-colored sand to replace the gold he
took from the deposits, and Mr. Kerfoot, by some exceed-
ingly clever work, found that the cashier obtained the
sand from some distance at a point on Puget Sound shores.
It was obtained under an assumed name in quite large
quantities. He had used altogether in the dishonest work
over a quarter of a ton of sand.
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In the Service of the Government

Although we were now positive of the guilt of the
cashier, some evidence stronger than any we had was
necessary before he could be charged with the crime.
Therefore, we arranged with the manager of the bank
which had filed the complaint at Washington that caused
the investigation to supply us with a lot of gold dust, from
which we sifted every particle of sand, and even all the
small particles of gold. This was sealed in the presence
of witnesses and sent to the assay office during an after-
noon by a messenger, with a witness. It was noted by
proper witnesses that the deposit was subsequently taken
in charge by the cashier and placed in the vault. The
next morning, when the deposit was turned over to the
melter, instead of allowing it to go to the melting pot, we
sifted it and recovered about three ounces of sand. As
the deposit had not been increased in weight after its
receipt, it was plain that an amount of gold equal to the
weight of said sand had been abstracted. As we had been
sifting deposits and manipulating them in various ways,
our treatment of this particular deposit had no particu-
lar significance with the workmen who saw us working
with it. Nevertheless, the cashier, within two or three
days afterward, came down to the office in the morning,
and instead of applying himself wholly to his work,
busied himself with other matters. Among other things,
he went to the vault and brought out the tin box which
I was sure contained the balances with which he made
his weights in the substitution process. Becoming con-
vinced that he was preparing for flight, Mr. Kerfoot, who
was on watch at the assay office for any such action dur-
ing my absence, gave the signal to the secret service men
who were conveniently posted outside, for the arrest of
the cashier. He professed surprise and amusement that
he should be charged with any wrong doing. He was
taken to the office of the secret service men and was told
with what off'ense he was charged. He was directed to

— 305 —

liccollcclifnis of (I \rn>sf)(if)f'rnuiii

ojxii the (ill l)().\. lie licsiljilcd. Wlicn further com-
iiiaiidcd, lie held llic key to the lock, af^:iiri lusilaliiif;, as
if U) delay Ihc exposure of positive iiuriniiualiiif^ evidence.
The si'cret service ollicer again spoke, dcinaiidin^ com-
pliance with his r('(|U('sl. The cashier obeyed, and with
the raising of the lid of the I)ox expcjsed to view a neat
pair of balances with numerous little grains of gold dust
scattered around on llic bollom of the Ijox, plainly show-
ing the use [Uv scales had been put to. The incident was
further heightened by the cashier crumpling up and fall-
ing to the floor as if in a faint. After he "came to," or
became composed, he confessed to some slight peculation,
but denied responsibility for all the losses that had been
going on for ilve years past. On his person the officers
found '1^12,000 in currency that he had drawn from the
bank that morning, leaving fSOOO to his credit in his
account, as we subsequently found when searching the
city for property and money in his name. The sum of
these two items represented a good part of his thefts
for that year. This bank was a new institution, and he
represented to the ofTicial that he was interested in or
owned some good mines in Alaska, and that he desired to
deposit his gold with the bank and have the bank dispose
of it and credit him with the proceeds, as he, being an
employee of the assay office, was prohibited from selling
or depositing gold there. He stored up his daily stealings,
and on days corresponding with the arrivals of steamers
from Alaska would appear at the bank with a bag of gold
dust and leave it there to be disposed of in accordance
with the arrangements just mentioned. In that way he
had acquired the credit of -^15,000.

Knowing now liow the cashier had been feloniously
operating, it was incumbent upon us to discover to what
extent his stealing operations had reached. This necessi-
tated taking account of every deposit made in the assay
office in the afternoons for that year and the preceding
— 306 —

In the Service of the Government

four years, and computing the difference between a nor-
mal loss and the loss shown by the books, which would
approximately represent the stealings. This was not
only a tedious but a complicated job, for the normal loss
on gold varied with the districts from whence it came.
Here again was where my young friend Kerfoot's talents
came into play and rendered service hard to duplicate.
By these computations we found the total of stealings to
reach an amount somewhere near $150,000. I do not
recall the exact figures. The next thing for us to do was
to find where he sold the gold and what he did with the
proceeds. It took some time, but we succeeded in locating
his sales, which had been made once a year or thereabouts,
and were pleased to find that the amounts of gold sold
agreed exceedingly close with the amounts estimated by
us to have been stolen. We had great trouble in finding
out what he did with the gold stolen in the years of 1903
and 1904.

After exhausting the possibilities of the cashier having
disposed of his stolen gold in Seattle in 1903, we knew that
he must have taken it to some other place. But where?
The attendance record at the assay office showed that at
no time was there more than two consecutive days when
he did not record himself as having been at the office. We
then made a search in those cities which he might have
visited by taking no more than two days' time for such
a trip, but found nothing to indicate he had ever visited
any of the places. The cashier himself explained those
two days' absence by saying that he had spent them in a
visit to friends in Portland, but we could not verify even
that. We were well nigh discouraged when it occurred
to us that the two days might have been Monday and
Tuesday, which would have enabled him to use Sunday
in traveling, making three days, and if he left the office
Saturday morning, after recording his presence, and then
returning late Wednesday afternoon in time to record his

— 307 —

lircollrch'ons of <i Nnvspaprniuni

presence, lie would li.ive pniclicn lly five (l;iys, wliich was
the exact time it would have taken to j^o to San r>ancisco
and hack, arriving there in the morning and taking the
train back in the evening. I iinniechately went to San
Francisco and called on the otiicials of the Selby Smelting
and Lead Company, exj)lainin,£f the case to them and tell-
ing them that I was sure that (he cashier had, on the IHth
day of November, 1903, sold to their firm about .$1 0,000
worth of gold dust. An examination of the books showed
that a purchase of just about that much had been made
on that date. The receiving clerk was asked if there was
anything about the man's action that would cause him to
remember the appearance of the person who sold the
gold to the firm. He promptly replied in the affirmative.
He stated that, in the first place, the man declared that
he was on his way East and must have his money that
day, and insisted on paying a discount for the favor of
getting the money at once, instead of wailing twenty-four
hours, as was the rule for making payments. Then, again,
he refused a check or coin, and would take nothing but
currency. It is the practice at this institution to give a
man a receipt for his bullion, which he holds while the
gold is being assayed and its value ascertained, and which
is surrendered upon being paid. The receipt in this trans-
action was issued to a name different from that of the
guilty cashier, but the indorsement was plainly in his
handwriting, and he had made some figures on the back
of the receipt, computing the loss in melting, which were
unmistakably his. Moreover, the clerk's description of
the man closely tallied with the general appearance of the
cashier. I was certain now that we had located the steal-
ings and verified the amount for the year 1903. However,
I wanted to make the evidence stronger. I felt satisfied
that he would not dare to purchase a return railroad ticket
and travel under an assumed name, as he would be likely
to meet trainmen and other people who knew him, so I
— 30S —

In the Service of the Government

went to the railroad office and found that a ticket to
Seattle had been sold on November 18 to the cashier in
his proper name. The stub of this ticket, with the cash-
ier's signature, was given me to be used in the trial. The
evidence in this transaction was now complete, but we
had yet to locate the sale made in 1904. This was a more
difficult task, as his movements for the year had been
more varied, and besides he was married early in Decem-
ber and had gone East on his wedding trip. We first
concluded that it was on this trip he disposed of an accu-
mulation of stealings of about 1000 ounces, valued at
between $16,000 and $17,000. We thought that he would
find some way to dispose of it at the United States assay
office in New York, and that he would put himself to some
trouble to accomplish it. We felt that he would undoubt-
edly make the deposit through a third party, and by his
knowledge of the government's method of doing business,
he would feel protected from robbery by any middleman
or messenger. We endeavored to have the officials at
the assay office assist us in locating the sale there, but
through some misunderstanding or error in description
the officials reported that no purchase of that magnitude
in gold dust had been made by them that season. The
findings of the officials threw us off the right track and in
consequence of the blunder we spent weeks in inquiries
and searched through each city where the cashier and his
bride stopped on the roundabout way from Seattle to
New York, requiring investigations in San Francisco, Los
Angeles, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and New York City. In
reviewing all this work it did not seem to us that any
possibility had been overlooked. Nevertheless, we made
another very careful search through San Francisco, but
not a clue was found. I then began to think the officials
at the government assay office at New York might have
made a mistake. Finally I became positive in my mind
that they had overlooked the deposit. I then wired the

— 309 —

Jh'coUcclions of <t i\ru>sj)aj)f'rrn(ni

Director ol" [\\v Mini to cause another examination of the
books of the New York institution, expressinf» my belief
that on or about Decemlxr l.'J or 1 J they wouhl surely
lind a record of a (l(|)()sil of ^old (hisl of about KKX)
ounces. The Director kindly took up the matter and I
had the f^ratilication of soon receiving a telegram in
return saying that such a deposit as I had described had
been made. It did not take long to connect the cashier
with the transaction and secure evidence proving that he
was the depositor. He sent the gold to the government
office through the aid of a messenger, and all the coimnu-
nication he had with the office was over a telephone,
located at a hotel other than that at which he was regis-
tered. The signatures made by him on the documents
issued in the transactions were easily identified as being
in the handwriting of the guilty cashier, although he
used a fictitious name. Other facts were developed which
helped to complete the chain of evidence of the man's
guilt. The locating of this deposit also completed account-
ing for the amount estimated by us to have been stolen
during the five years of his dishonest operations. We had
been short in finding the disposition of all of his stealings
for the last year, and finally reached the conclusion that
in all probability he had not sold it and the gold would
be found secreted somewhere around his home. Mr.
Kerfoot, with the assistance of a secret service officer, went
to the home of the cashier, and together they made a most
thorough search of the premises, including the residence,
garage, and other outbuildings and grounds. They had
been at work several hours and had found where the
cashier had endeavored to hide some black sand which
was of the lot he had been using in making substitution
for the stolen gold, as well as some of the appliances he
had used in the dishonest work, when a setter dog belong-
ing to the cashier brought in his mouth and laid down at
the feet of the searchers a small buckskin pouch, as if
— 310 —

In the Service of the Government

he, too, had joined in the hunt for evidence against his
master. The pouch still contained a few grains of gold,
showing the use that had been made of it. However, so
far, the gold the officers were in search of had not been
discovered, although they had searched and poked into
every nook, cranny, and corner from the roof to the base-
ment of the residence, and were now in the cellar and
about to give up the search, when Mr. Kerfoot called
attention to the pile of about three tons of coal in a cor-
ner of the basement that they had not moved, although
they had moved and replied a cord or two of stove wood,
and remarked that, to make the job complete, they would
have to shovel it across the basement, so the two men
started in on the job. They joked each other about being
coal-heavers, especially when their complexions began to
take on the hue of blackness that follows that vocation.
They little expected that in the last possible place to be
searched and under the last shovelful of coal to be
moved in the remotest corner of the coal bin they would
find two fat buckskin pouches containing the amount of
gold missing from the estimate of the year's stealings,
about $7000, but such was their reward.

In relating the story of this crime, I have only touched
on some of the main and interesting features. The cash-
ier pleaded guilty to stealing the gold missing for the
year 1905. He was not charged and tried with the crimes
committed in the other years, on the motion of the Assis-
tant United States Attorney. He w^as sentenced to ten
years' imprisonment.

The government seized all the property that could
be found standing in his name, except the homestead and
one or two other smaller pieces of real estate. The cash-
ier was not extravagant and had not wasted the steal-
ings. On the contrary, he had invested the proceeds of
his rascally work with excellent judgment, largely in
"near in" real estate, which had enhanced in value to a

— 311 —

/{ccollcrlions of (i iS'cinspdprrnuin

considerable exlcnt. He iiccounlcd lo liis friends for
these purehases by stories of rich relatives dyiriq from
lime to time and leavinj^ him larf^e sums of money. The
government sold the property and with tlie proceeds
endeavored to restore to the miners the amounts of their
losses. Considerable publicity was given of the intention
of the government in the matter, but less than 50 per
cent of the total amount stolen by the cashier was
awarded to those who iiled claims in the case. He had
a number of influential friends who worked incessantly
for a pardon and finally succeeded in getting him released
from prison after he had served about six or seven
years of the term of his sentence. He returned to Seat-
tle and these friends found a good position for him,
but in less than ninety days he was arrested once more
and in prison. This time it was on a charge of taking
some part in making counterfeit money. He was tried
and convicted and sent back to the government prison.

He came from a good family, was refined in appear-
ance, was bright, and had pleasant mannerisms, which
made him well liked, if not popular. His was a strange
case.

— 312 —

CHAPTER XV
GREAT EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE OF 1906

Destruction Wrought in San Francisco and Neighboring
Places — The Battle to Save the Mint Building — How
San Francisco's Financial System Was Re-estab-
lished— Nation-Wide Generosity Shown to Victims.

Perhaps I should class my experience in the great fire
and earthquake of April, 1906, as the most exciting fea-
ture of my administration as Superintendent of the mint
in San Francisco. While I would not seek another such
experience, I have often said that I was glad the oppor-
tunity fell to me to be present and in the midst of one
of the great disasters of history, but I shall always cen-
sure myself that 1 did not make a record of what I
saw, as well as the observations of other people and
my own thoughts while the circumstances and details of
the awful affair were fresh in my mind. 1 was suddenly
awakened soon after 5 o'clock on that memorable morn-
ing of April 18, with the hundreds of thousands of others
who lived within a radius of a hundred miles of this sec-
tion, to a realization of being shaken by an earthquake
that seemed to threaten to tear our house to pieces. The
building danced a lively jig, jumping up and down a
good part of a foot at every jump, at the same time sway-
ing this way and that; the walls and ceilings were twist-
ing and squirming, as if wrestling to tear themselves
asunder or one to throw the other down. Then there were
the terrifying noises, the cracking and creaking of tim-
ber, the smashing and crashing of falling glass, bric-a-brac,
and furniture, and the thumping of falling bricks cours-
ing down the roof sides from the chimney tops. Now and

— 313 —

lifcollcclioiis of (I i\rii)s/)(i/)ci/ii(in

then Ihori' would he ii loiidci" c r;isli aixi ronr, (.omiiif^ from
some (lislaiicc, llial told, plainer llian words, ol llie awlul-
ness of the visitation and the greater <lestnietion of prop-
erly, if not life. Tlic ail- was lillcd willi diisl. II seemed
as if the shakini^ woiihl never cease. T^very viJMation
seemed to be followed by another more fierce, stronger,
and more destructive. I lay in bed and saw tlx- debris
of wrecked chimney tops go sailing down past our bed-
room windows. I fell that 1 was in as safe a place there
as anywhere else in the house while the shaking lasted,
and much safer than to attempt to go out of doors. Then
1 also felt that if the terrible disturbance was primary
to the end of all things we might as well meet our fate
right where we were. I confess that for a few seconds
I was impressed with the idea that the end of the world
had been reached. I did not get out of bed until the
shaking ceased. Hastily dressing, I hurried to the street,
expecting to find many houses wrecked and churches and
other large buildings in ruins. I was greatly surprised
to find so little damage done. A church tower had tum-
bled down on Telegraph Avenue a couple of blocks from
our house, and its debris practically blockaded the street.
A frame building, an old two-story rickety affair, at the
intersection of Hobart Street and Broadway, had fallen
flat. A larger, built-over frame apartment house on Elev-
enth Street was wrecked so it had to be taken down.
Nearly every brick building in town suffered a loss of
fire walls, while three or four old buildings were so
badly injured that they were subsequently removed and
new buildings erected in their place. The modern steel-
framed structures went through the test without serious
injury. The tall buildings were as immune from injury
as the smaller ones. There was not a building in Oak-
land, Alameda, or Berkeley, that I heard of, that was
not shorn of its chimney tops. This contributed no small
amount of discomfort in household affairs, especially in
— 3/4 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

culinary operations. People who relied upon gas stoves
for their kitchen needs were not discommoded any
length of time. On this side of the bay the gas and water
mains did not suffer any serious damage. There was
not a household that did not suffer some loss from
broken crockery, ornaments, furniture, etc. Interiors, in
some instances, were flooded by the breaking of water
pipes inside of the houses. The addition of soot, broken
plaster, and the liquid contents of broken glass contain-
ers increased the misery in many homes.

People who were on the street during the earthquake
said that the shaking of the houses made a terrific din.
The houses, and especially the roofs, emitted clouds of
dust. Tree tops and telegraph poles were swaying sev-
eral feet back and forth, and the surface of the streets
running east and west moved in undulations not unlike
the waves on the bay. With all of the tumbling of chim-
neys, crumbling of fire walls, and falling buildings, only
two or three people were killed in Oakland, and not more
than a score of injuries were reported. People were
frightened and many could not be induced to enter their
homes for a length of time — some for hours and some
for days. Fortunately, we were having a spell of about
as fine weather as one could wish for. The air was warm
and balmy for a couple of days more, so it was no hard-
ship to eat and to sleep out of doors, as many people did,
until driven in by the cold winds and rain storm a little
later on. Our family ate their breakfast inside the house,
though it was cooked out in the back yard on a camp fire.
People who had gas stoves were soon able to resume their
cooking operations in the house, the gas company hav-
ing quickly repaired damages to its plant and renewed
the supply of gas. But people who depended on wood
or coal stoves, with chimneys to carry off the smoke,
were not allowed to use them until the chimneys were
examined by a city inspector, who would then issue a

— 315 —

lirrollcrlions of <i i^rinspaprniidn

permit. Bricklayers were in ^icjil (Icih.iikI for several
weeks.

After an early breakfast, and finding' that none of onr
family had been hurt, I walked down town to see what
had haj)i)ened and hear what 1 ini^lil from other i)laees.
Upon reaching? Fourteen Ih and Broadway my thoughts
for the first lime touched upon San Francisco, and I
instinctively turned my eyes in its direction. I saw that
the heavens above the city were filling with the black
smoke of a great lire, which was rapidly finishing the
w^ork of destruction begun by the earthquake, and that
a disaster more appalling than anything ever dreamed
of and more extensive in destruction of property ever
before known was now upon the unfortunate city.
Under the circumstances I knew my presence was needed,
or at least my place of duty was at the mint, to direct
and assist in protecting the government property placed
under my care as Superintendent. I had great difficulty
in making the trip to the city. The local trains connect-
ing with the ferry-boats were not running on schedule,
and when a train did come along the roofs and platforms
were covered with people who could not get inside. It
seemed as if about all of Oakland's population was bound
for San Francisco, but few people, however, were carried
over by the ferry-boats. The trains were halted along the
line between Broadway and the pier. By riding on one
until it stopped, then running ahead and getting aboard
of another and w^alking from the foot of Seventh Street
to the end of the pier, I finally reached the ferry slip, to
be told that no one was allowed to go on the boats bound
for the city and that the boats would only be run to bring
refugees from San Francisco. 1 hunted up Mr. Palmer,
the division superintendent, and asked him to make an
exception of my case and let me go over. He said he fully
appreciated the circumstances of my request and would
send me across the bay immediately. I was directed to
— 316 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

go aboard one of the ferry-boats in the slip and was soon
on the way to the city that was being ravaged by fires
arising in almost every direction, I took a position on
the upper deck as far forward as possible and tried to
pick out the districts threatened by the flames. At this
hour there were several distinct and separate conflagra-
tions, which merged into one great, sweeping fire later in
the day. The fires were started, no doubt, by the dis-
turbance of electric wires, upsetting of stoves, etc., in
half a dozen or more sections of the city, but more par-
ticularly in the wholesale district, the water front section,
and the district through to the Mission from the bay.
The earthquake had broken the water pipes in the streets
in many places, therefore the mains were empty and
no water was to be had by the firemen at any of the
hydrants. They were helpless away from the water front.
By getting water from the bay, the fire department pre-
vented the flames from spreading to the docks and ware-
houses on the piers, and also saved considerable other
property adjacent to the waterfront.

It was a terrible sight. Flames were leaping high in the
air from places scattered all the way across the front
part of the city. Great clouds of black smoke filled the
sky and hid the rays of the sun. Buildings in the track
of the rapidly spreading fire went down like houses of
cardboard; little puffs of smoke would issue from every
crevice for a brief time, to be suddenly followed by big
clouds of black smoke which would hide things for an
instant, as if in attempt to shut out the vision of the trag-
edy being enacted. Great masses of flame would quickly
take the place of the smoke and shoot up above every-
thing, announcing the consummation of destruction, and
then sweep on to the doomed one next in order. I could
see that the devastation was going on in the very midst
of the most important and cosily part of the city — the
wholesale, financial, and retail districts. How far the fire

— 3/7 —

Recollrrlions of a Nrwspapprman

liad ('xlciidcd I could tiol iii;d<c oiil; whether the mint
striK'lurc h;id yd hccii snhjcclcd to tlic fury of tlic flames
I could nol dclcrmiiic. The imccrlaiiity increased my
anxiely lo reach (he hiiihUn^'.

Landing from the ferry, I found hoth sides of Market
Street for several hloeks from the ferry l)uildin£» to he
in a mass of flames. Passage uj) (own was also hlocked
by the flames by the way of Mission, Howard, Folsom,
and other parallel streets on the south. To the north,
along the water front, I made my way on docks, passing
in front of the burning buildings facing the bay, amid
firemen fighting the flames, and hundreds of refugees
racing for the ferry building, having learned that the
cities of Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley afforded an
asylum for the homeless of San Francisco. These people
were of all classes and conditions, young and old, male
and female. Many were laden with all they could carry
of household things, pet animals, and birds in their cages,
but more people passed along in the race for a safer place
with no loads or packages to hinder them. By use of the
word "race" I do not mean to imply that the movements
of the crowds indicated any showing of panic. On the
contrary, I did not see a single person in tears or mani-
festing fear. Every one seemed to realize that all were
menaced by the same danger and victims of the same
misfortune, and were reduced to a common level for the
time, at least — a condition which seemed to arouse the
utmost confidence in one another. The sight of so much
distress drove into obscurity the baser soul, to give the
fullest play to all that was noble and good in man. Never
was human life and person, or personal property so safe
from injury or loss by depredation in San Francisco as
on that terrible day, and for the several days following.

I went as far north as Jackson or Pacific Street, thence
west around the fire. I found at Sansome Street the
fire fighters concentrating their efforts there to prevent
— 318 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

the fire from crossing the thoroughfare and spreading
west; and as on Market Street, from the intersection of
Sansome Street west as far as the street was built up, the
fire had not been able to cross, it was thought and hoped
that all that valuable property and business west of San-
some and north of Market were going to be saved from
the conflagration. This hope remained strong until late in
the afternoon, when the fire, slowly eating its way north
on the east side of Sansome Street, reached a tall build-
ing between Clay and Washington streets which was
filled, from cellar to attic, with inflammable goods. This
structure made a terrific blaze, which was communicated
to some frame buildings across the street which were very
flimsy. The appellation, "fire fiend," seemed to be the
only term appropriate at this point. The flames acted
as if they knew that, so far, they had been prevented
from crossing to the buildings on the other side all along
Sansome Street, but now they had conquered the resist-
ance after an all-day fight and hesitated only long enough
to gather strength for a terrific and terrifying demonstra-
tion of their destructive powers. The buildings at the
point of the crossing were wiped out in a few moments,
then from a direction west across the territory thought
to have been saved from the fire raced a column of flame
about a block wide like a prairie fire, leaving the prop-
erty bordering its path for more deliberate destruction.
In almost less time than it takes to tell about it the flames
jumped from Sansome to Montgomery, then from the lat-
ter street to Kearny, seizing upon Chinatown with a fury
that terrified the poor Chinamen and prevented them
from saving much or anything in the way of goods or jier-
sonal effects. The fire moved more slowly in spreading
in the other directions, but it was this particular part of
the conflagration that completed the destruction of the
business district and hotel section and burned for more
than two days afterward before it was conquered by the

— 3i9 —

Urcollfclions of <i NcinsjKtjx'nndii

firemen, citizens, and soldiers who, wlun routed at San-
some Street, retreated to Van Ness Avenue, and there put
up a sueeessliil line of (IcIVnse, 'J'he fire hurried up to
that street, hut there it was stayed. The part of tlie eon-
lla^Mation whieh swept from the ferry huihling on
through the whoh'sale district and thence through the Mis-
sion finally worked its way across Market Street and
joined the Sansome Street branch of the fire. It would
take too much space to attempt to relate all the details
of the burning of the city. But in those three days of
horror every bank, every theater, every newspaper, all
the large business houses, and the homes of over one-third
of the population of the city had been swept out of exist-
ence.

To return to the description of my efforts to reach the
mint building: when I reached Kearny Street and found
that 1 was out of the fire zone, I started in the direction
of the mint, using Kearny, Sutter, and Post streets until I
reached Union Square. In crossing Union Square I saw
the dead body of a man wrapped in a quilt lying near the
base of the De\vey monument. I was told that the unfor-
tunate was a victim of the earthquake. 1 had now passed
through a good portion of the substantial part of the city
not yet attacked by the flames and was able to observe the
damage caused by the earthquake. I was surprised to
find that all the first-class buildings on good foundations
were practically uninjured. There were some poorly con-
structed buildings erected on made ground which were
thrown down, among which the hotel on Valencia Street,
where the greatest loss of life took place, was a notable
instance. Frame houses on solid ground but a short dis-
tance away on either side of the hotel showed little evi-
dence of having passed through an earthquake.

After leaving Union Square 1 walked down Powell
toward Market. Upon reaching the last named street I
was stopped by the soldiers posted along the thorough-

— Z20 —

^- '*

til Oi

— s

4)3

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

fare to keep all people from passing into the burning
district. Just what advantage to the public, property
owners, or any one, for that matter, such use of the soldiers
was, or of what value their instructions were, I could
never learn or understand. The action of the troops pre-
vented proprietors of stores and oflice people from vis-
iting their places of business, securing papers, and saving
personal belongings. They prevented the looting of the
doomed stores, it is true, but probably it would have
been better to have thrown the store doors open and let
people carry off what they could than stand over the
property with loaded rifles, threatening death to any who
attempted to enter until the flames came along and
devoured the stuff and relieved the soldiers. However, I
was displeased with the manner in which the soldiers
pushed me back, in my several attempts to cross Market
Street at different points. Finally, at the intersection of
Mason and Market streets, while trying to convince a
guard that I was a government officer and that my duty
called me across the street, a policeman who happened to
know me came along, and finding out what I wanted
ignored the soldier and escorted me to the other side
of Market Street, thence down to Fifth Street, where the
mint was located. I felt exceedingly grateful for his kind-
ness and could not help admiring this evidence of supe-
rior judgment of the police over the military in this par-
ticular case.

When I reached the mint building I found that I had
also reached the edge of the fire zone. A lot of small
buildings directly opposite the mint building on Fifth
Street had already been destroyed by the flames, and the
fire was slowly eating its way northerly toward the Met-
ropolitan Temple and Lincoln school building, both of
which faced on Fifth Street; besides, from the center of
the same block it was working its way more rapidly
toward the big Emporium Building. Another branch of

— 321 —

TiccoUrrlions of <i Srwspaprrnian

the flames had swtpl ihv. hiiildiiif^s on {\\v south side of
Mission opposite the mint hiiildin^, and was crossing
Mission, hea(hn^ for Market Street, clearly pointing out
lor destruction all the hig huildings west and north of
the mint; and it was also evident that hefcjn; the after-
noon was over the two lircs would come together on Fifth
Street, and thus cut olf the mint building from communi-
cation with the outside world and surround it with fire,
if not destroy it. Early in the beginning of the confla-
gration a great many of the poor people living in the vicin-
ity of the mint brought quantities of bedding and other
household things such as could be easily handled and
piled the stuff on the walks around the building, think-
ing it would be safe there.

One of the initial fires, that finally merged with others
in making the general conflagration, started a block below
the mint on Fifth Street in a rickety frame building used
as a boarding house. It was partially thrown down by the
force of the earthquake shocks. A stove in which a fire
had been started to cook breakfast was upset and the
red-hot coals, when spilled out, set fire to the place. Fire-
men quickly appeared on the scene while the flames were
yet small and could easily have been extinguished if any
water could have been obtained from the hydrants. They
could only stand by and watch the fire grow into an uncon-
trollable demon of blaze.

Inside the mint building I was greatly pleased to find
fifty of our employees, whose sense of loyalty to duty had
not been modified by fear of earthquake or the horror of
being penned up in a big building surrounded by fire.
They were there to do their best to help save the prop-
erty of the government, and they went about the work in
a simple, everj'-day manner, but nevertheless with earnest,
willing, and active spirit. I felt proud to be Superinten-
dent of that band of faithful and brave men. The captain
of the watch, T. W. Hawes, had directed the work with

— 322 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

excellent judgment until I arrived. They had fought the
fire away from getting a foothold in the building from the
east and south sides, but we all knew the worst was to
come when the flames reached the big buildings to the
west and north of us.

I made a trip over the inside of the building and had
things made snug and had all inflammable material
removed from proximity to the openings in the walls
on the north and west sides. A survey from the roof
about 1 o'clock in the afternoon made our position look
rather perilous. It did not seem probable that the struc-
ture could withstand that terrific mass of flames that
was sweeping down upon us from Market Street. The
fire that had cut across Mission Street to the west of
us had swept out northwesterly to Market Street, then
east as if to join hands with the other branch of the fire
then raging in and on both sides of the big Emporium
Building; it had thus marshaled the elements of destruc-
tion and was now marching them down on the mint
building. The battle would soon be on. Lieutenant Arm-
strong of the United States army was thoughtful enough
to bring a squad of ten soldiers from Fort Miley to help
in any way the men could be of service to us. These with
our own men made a fighting crew of sixty, which was
divided up into squads for work on each floor, from the
basement to the roof. Fortunately for us, we had a good
supply of water. In fact, it is a matter of interest to know
that, some months previous, the suggestion came to me
that we should have the building piped and fire hydrants
and hose at suitable places installed on each floor to pro-
tect the building from any fire originating on the inside.
It was only about ten days before the great disaster came
upon us that the last hydrants of the system were put in
place on the roof. Our water supply was independent
of outside sources, being derived from an artesian well
in the court. With a strong pump in the boiler room

— 323 —

RecoUcclions of a Newspaperman

we were able to force a f^ood stream to auy part of the
roof. Then the two hirge tanks h)cate(l on the roof, filled
with water, gave us a strong head for two hose streams
at the basement floor. Without this protection the build-
ing would, without (jucslion, have been gutted by the
flames. But even these alone would not have been sulli-
cient to keep the fire from gaining a foothold. On the sec-
ond and third floors the men worked almost wholly with
buckets. Every man stuck to the post where he had
been placed. There was not a whimper, though some
knew their homes were in the path of the fire, and all
felt there was possibly something else besides the safety
of the building depending upon the issue of the contest
with the great mass of fire that was soon to sweep against
us. I know I had decided that, if we should be unable
to withstand the heat of the flames beating against
and over the building, or should be driven out by the
flames taking possession of the structure, what I should
try to do to preserve the lives of the brave men defend-
ing the property. I formed a plan of retreat, if the worst
came, but said nothing of it to the men. If the mint build-
ing had burned it would have been warm work for us,
in more than one sense, in getting outside of the fire
zone, but I think we would have succeeded, for the build-
ings to the south of us had been burned away, so we
could have gone to the streets, where we would only have
had to endure the heat of the ruins until an opening was
made in the fire circle surrounding us. We possibly would
have had to remain inside the fire zone, like cattle in a
huge corral, until the fire burned out at some point to
enable us to make an exit. However, we did not have
much time for speculation, or long to wait for the con-
test to begin. We had scarcely finished placing the men
when, inside, the building was made almost dark as night
by a mass of black smoke that swept in upon us just
ahead of the advancing flames; then, following, came a

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

tremendous shower of red hot cinders, big and small,
which fell on our building as thick as hail in a storm,
and piled up on the roof in drifts nearly two feet
deep at one place against a fire wall for a distance of
twenty feet. The court in the center of the building was
open to the sky, and in it were much wood and timber.
Here the sparks and cinders fell as thick as elsewhere,
a dozen little fires were starting at various places in the
court, and the men with the hose streams at each end of
the court had all they could do to keep those fires down
and new ones from starting. In the height of this feature
of the fight I went out into the court to show a soldier
who was handling one line of hose how to get the most
efficiency from the stream of water. Before 1 could get
back my clothes and hat were scorched by the falling
cinders. The difficulty of keeping the fire from getting
a foothold here greatly increased my fear that the mint
was doomed to destruction. Finally the shower of living
coals abated somewhat, making the fight in the court
easier, so I passed to the upper floor, where I felt that
the hardest struggle against the flames would soon take
place. The buildings across the alley from the mint were
on fire, and soon great masses of flames shot against
the side of our building as if directed against us by a
huge blow-pipe. The glass in our windows, exposed to
this great heat, did not crack and break, but melted down
like butter; the sandstone and granite, of which the build-
ing was constructed, began to flake off with explosive
noises like the firing of artillery. The heat was now
intense. It did not seem possible for the structure to with-
stand this terrific onslaught. The roar of the conflagra-
tion and crashing of falling buildings, together with the
noises given off from the exploding stones of our build-
ing, were enough to strike terror in our hearts, if we
had had time to think about it. At times the concussions
from the explosions were heavy enough to make the floor

— 325 —

Recollrcli'ons of <i Newspapmudii

quiver. Once I lliouglil ;i jxiilioii ol llic iiorllicrn wall
and roof had lallcFi in, so loud and heavy was Ihc- crash-
ing noise. (Ircal lon^ncs of flanic flashed into lh(; open
windows where the glass had been nicllcd out, and Ihreat-
ened to seize upon the woodwork of the interior of the
tier of rooms around tliat side of the buihhng. Now came
the climax. Would we succeed in keeping the fire out, or
should we have to retreat and leave the fire fiend to finish
the destruction of the mint unhindered? Every man was
alive to the situation, and with hose and buckets of water
they managed to be on hand at every place when most
needed — first in this room and then in that. The men in
relays dashed into the rooms to play water on the flames;
they met a fierce heat; though scorched was their flesh,
each relay would remain in these places, which were ver-
itable furnaces, as long as they could hold their breaths,
then come out to be relieved by another crew of willing
fighters. How long this particular feature of the contest
went on I have little idea, but just when we thought we
were getting the best of the fight another cloud of dense,
black, choking smoke suddenly joined the flames and
drove us back to the other end of the building, and some
of the men, more sensitive to the stifling smoke, were com-
pelled to go to the floors bclow^ I thought the building was
now doomed, beyond question, but to our surprise the
smoke soon cleared up and the men, with a cheer, went
dashing into the fight again. Every advantage gained by
them was told by their yells of exultation. We were gain-
ing in the fight when word came to me that the roof was
now on fire and the flames were getting beyond the control
of the men there, who only had buckets to fight with. The
roof men wanted a hose stream, but 1 sent word back that
the hose was needed on the third floor for a while longer
and that as soon as we were out of danger at this point
we would attack the roof fire from underneath in the
attic. I knew^ the roof would burn slowly, as it was cov-

— 326 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

ered with copper roofing plates. Tlie explosions of the
stones in our walls grew fainter, and finally we heard no
more of them. The flames ceased their efforts to find
entrance to our stronghold through the windows, but the
heat reflected from the mass of red hot ruins to the north
of us was almost unbearable: we could not see what the
situation was outside, or tell just what other or further
experience was in store for us. However, we began to
feel that the fight was nearly won and that, after all, we
were going to save the building. We were now able to
keep the interiors of the rooms which were most threat-
ened wet down by the bucket men, so I sent the men with
the hose to extinguish the roof fire, which was quickly
done. In a half hour or so our defensive work was over.
I now had time to take some observations, and made a
trip over the building for that purpose. I found that
the building had not been seriously injured, and that with
careful watching and preventing the lodgment of cinders,
there would be no further danger of the mint being
destroyed. The fight was won. The mint was saved.

We were a happy band, pleased with the result of our
efforts in successfully lighting off the fire, but we did not
think so much of our victory until a day or two later
when we saw the benefits to follow to the stricken com-
munity in a financial way. We opened the only available
vaults in the city holding any considerable amount of
coin.

It was now near 5 o'clock in the evening. The struggle
with the fire demon had lasted from early morning, and
all were tired, but there were other duties to be performed
by them, as no relief crew was obtainable. The men were
divided in watches, which gave some of them opportunity
to obtain a little rest. The watch on duty was stationed
at the exposed places. The hose lines were stretched, filled
buckets were placed in convenient places, and steam
pressure in the boiler room was ordered kept up so the

— 327 —

Recollections of a Newspaperman

fire pumps could be stniled at a moment's notice, if
needed. When all Ihe prcjiarations and plans for the night
had been arranged I (Iclcrniined lo make the ((rorl to go
to Oakland and send a report to llic Director ol the mint
at Washington, as I knew the aulliorilies there would i)e
pleased to know that our building had been saved. I shall
never forget the feeling that came over me as I descended
the steps of the mint building into Fifth Street and noted
the change that had taken place there within a few short
hours. When I passed down that block on Fifth Street
from Market in the morning all the large business blocks,
the Metropolitan Temple, and the Lincoln school were
intact. The soldiers, policemen, firemen, and privileged
citizens moving to and fro then gave animation to the
scene, but now, turn which way you would, the view pre-
sented was one of utter ruin, desolation, and loneliness.
The buildings just described were piles of smoking and
blazing ruins. The street was encumbered with fallen trol-
ley poles and tangled wires and other indestructible debris
from the burned buildings. Not a human being was to be
seen. It seemed as if all the people and buildings of the
city but the mint and its defenders had been destroyed.
It w^as a most depressing scene of desolation.

The heat was intense, but I picked my way through the
obstacles lying in twisted and tangled masses in the street
until I got out of the fire zone. I then started for the
ferry at the foot of Market Street, taking something of
the course on my return as that by which I came in the
morning, although I had to make a wider detour to the
north, as the flames had worked several blocks farther in
that direction. On my way 1 saw that part of the fire had
escaped from the iiremen on Sansome Street and was
racing across Kearny Street to Dupont, threatening, in its
course, the destruction of Chinatown. The poor, unfor-
tunate inmates of this section, realizing the fate in store
for their homes and property, were in a state of great
— 328 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

activity and excitement. From the speed the fire was
making in their direction and the reluctance some of the
Chinamen were showing in the way of leaving their homes
and property, I fell that there would be a loss of life here
to be added to the list of deaths caused by the disaster,
but the soldiers and police came along and drove the
loiterers out of the zone of danger. It was an appalling
scene that I passed through on my way to the ferry. The
wild march of the flames up the hill, the fleeing residents,
the rushing of the firemen with their engines and trucks,
and of other fire fighters to a new line of defense, the
exploding charges of dynamite used to blow down build-
ings in the path of flame, combined in telling, in a manner
stronger than words, the terrible character of the disaster
the people of San Francisco were facing.

After arriving in Oakland I immediately went to the tel-
egraph office and filed a dispatch to the Director of the
mint at Washington, D. C. The telegraph office was
crowded with people trying to send messages to relatives
and friends. To give an idea of the extent of business sud-
denly thrust upon the telegraph company within the ten
days following the fire, it may be said that it was unable
to place all the messages filed upon the wires and hun-
dreds were forwarded by mail. However, all government
business had the right of way and was forwarded at once,
so I was soon in touch with the authorities at Washing-
ton. The following is the substance of the report I sent
the evening of the first day of the fire:

San Francisco visited early this morning by terrible
earthquake followed by fire which has burned the greater
part of business district. Mint building not damaged much
by shock. Every building around the mint burned to the
ground. It is the only building not destroyed for blocks.
I reached building before the worst of the fire came, find-
ing a lot of our men there, stationed them at points of
vantage from roof to basement, and with our fire appa-
ratus and without help from the fire department we suc-
cessfully fought the fire away, although all the windows

— 329 —

liccollcclioiis of (I N ewapaperman

on Mint Avciuic imd hiick side third story were I)urncd
out; lire coiniiif^ in drove lis l>;K*k for ;i tunc. Adjusting
rooms and refinery danKif^ed some and heavy stone cor-
nice on that side of huihhn" flaked ofT. 'IMie loof i)iirned
some little. Lieut. G. \\. Armstrong?, Sixtli Cnited Stales
Infantry, witli s([iiad of men, was sent tc) us hy eonunand-
int* ollicer of dejjarlment, who rendered ellieient aid. I'Mre
still hurnini* in central and western parts of city, and what
little remains of central business section is threatened. I
could not report sooner, as I had to wait until I could
return to Oakland. No dispatches could be sent from San
Francisco.

There was great activity in Oakland among the people
in preparing to take care of the thousands of refugees
who had so suddenly and unexpectedly been thrown upon
the generosity of the community. The churches and all
public assembly places were thrown open to the home-
less and hungry. Food, bedding, and clothing were pro-
vided as if by magic. Thousands of private homes were
opened to the sufferers, and no one had occasion to com-
plain. An intelligent organization of Oakland's leading
and active citizens was effected in the shortest possible
time. Lawyers, merchants, capitalists, preachers, teachers
— in truth, people, men and women from all walks of
life — were represented in the list of those who responded
at once to aid in receiving and caring for the sufferers.
Committees were sent to the depots and ferries to receive
and direct the sufferers to places of refuge as fast as they
arrived within the limits of Oakland. It was a grand and
noble work, and was discharged with willingness and
enthusiasm. It would take too much space to relate the
details of the later organization and work of the citi-
zens in caring for the refugees, the establishment of camps,
and the orderly provision for the multitude of people of
almost all nationalities. All I can say here is that it was
well done, and a credit to the community and humanity
of the people composing it.

The sudden doubling of the population of Oakland and

— SSO —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

other conditions warranted the calling out of several com-
panies of the National Guard to assist in policing the city,
and before dusk the streets were being patrolled by sol-
diers. However, there was little need of them, for the cir-
cumstances of the disaster, for the time being, filled the
minds of every one with only the best of thoughts and
traits of character. The best that is in humanity was
on parade. Strange as it may seem, it is no less a truth
that life and property were never more respected or more
secure than during the trjdng days following the disaster.
All lines of class feeling were obliterated; the rich and
the poor were on the one level of life. I do not remember
of an instance when any individual failed to respond in
the performance of duty to his fellow in distress, when
and wherever called upon.

That first night of the disaster, the flames from the burn-
ing buildings in San Francisco illuminated the western
part of the heavens well nigh to the zenith, and the light
reflected made the streets of Oakland like twilight. Thou-
sands of people who had been made nervous by the earth-
quake in the morning would not go into their homes to
sleep, and either made their beds on the ground away from
danger of falling walls or walked the streets. Thousands
sought places of advantage from whence they could watch
the progress of the conflagration on the other side of the
bay. So far as weather conditions were concerned, the
day and night were beautiful. This fact made it desirable
and not unpleasant to be out of doors.

I retired early and had a good night's rest, which I felt
was necessary, that I might be in the best trim to meet
the demands my position would probably call for when I
reached the mint the following day.

I reached San Francisco quite early Thursday morning.
When I landed there I found the ferry building almost
deserted. A policeman and two or three citizens were all
the people to be seen around that usually lively place. I

— 3S1 —

Rccollcrliotis of a Nrinspfiprrniar)

nskcd the policoman how I could Ixst ^(1 iij) town. He
said ho (hd nol know of any roiilc not acconipaDicd with
danger, or without tjoin^ Ihrou^h the fiic zone. There was
no way of going around the liic, as he was inlornied that
it was then hurning neai- tlie water or hay, hoth north and
south, therefore he advised nic not to try to make the
trip. I asked if Market Street wouhl not admit of a pos-
sihle passage. He rephed in the aifirmative, and said that,
if I was (h'lerniine(] to go, lliat was unflouhledly the hest
way to get there. One of the citizens standing near, hear-
ing the conversation, spoke up and volunteered the infor-
mation that one or two parties of men had succeeded in
making the trip through the burned district by following
Market Street to the ferry building, although one man
had been killed by falling walls and the balance of his
party had been nearly suifocatcd by the smoke and heat
from the ruins lining both sides of the street. This infor-
mation was not ver}'^ encouraging, but I felt that I must try
to reach the mint building, as I had not heard from there
since leaving the evening before, so I started out. The
heat w^as not so great as 1 expected, but every now and
then suiTocating clouds of smoke enveloped me so closely
I could hardly see or breathe. There were tons and tons
of debris from all kinds of building material lying in huge
masses in the street. In one or two places the fallen ruins
had filled the street from curb to curb, several feet deep;
these I had to clamber over, practically on "all fours."
Tottering walls still stood in many places on both sides
of the street. They appeared as if the slightest earth-
quake shock or puff of wind w^ould send them toppling.
As we had been experiencing shocks of earthquake every
few hours, following the big shock, I must confess I felt
I was in peril, and heartily wished I was out of that par-
ticular place. The worst of the trip was between the
ferry and Montgomery' Street. From Montgomery Street
west to Fifth Street I had fair going, as there was but

— 332 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

little smoke and less heat, and no debris except on the
sidewalks. I was probably one of the first who passed
through Market Street from the ferry, after the buildings
on both sides of the street had been burned. I saw no
evidence of the mishap the citizen had described to me,
although I saw the dead body of a man, a victim of the
fire, lying in the street near the sidewalk in front of
what had been Spreckels Market. The head had nearly
all been burned off, though the clothes were scarcely
scorched. While about midway between Montgomery and
Kearny streets on Market I noticed a small, two-story
brick building still intact, which, for some strange reason,
had escaped the flames that had gutted the big Crocker
building to the east and the Chronicle building on the west
and leveled the buildings between. While I stood there
alone, the only person on the street, marveling as to how
the building could have escaped destruction, a little jet of
flame appeared above the eastern fire wall on the roof.
It could have been extinguished with a bucket or two
of water. I recall now that, while 1 saw that the building
was doomed to the fate of its neighbors, it did not seem a
matter of much importance. The idea probably arose from
a sense of relation, wherein this building was so uncon-
siderable an affair, compared with the large and costly
structures by which it had been surrounded, now gutted
and in ruins.

I met with no other incident in completing my journey
to the mint building than encountering the dead body
before mentioned. I will not attempt to describe my feel-
ings or my thoughts while making that trip up Market
Street, solitary and alone, between the towering and
threatening ruins of the great buildings which had lined
San Francisco's main thoroughfare and amid an awful
and suggestive silence. When I turned into Fifth Street
quite another scene was pictured. My heart thrilled with
emotion at the sight of our national colors floating from

— 333 —

lircollrclions of (i Newspapprman

nil improvised stall" tliriisl out from the Iroiil f^ablc peak
of llio mint huildirif,', tlic slall' Iroin wliicl) it was usually
Howii having been i)Uiiu(l. Tlic wavinf^ tlag confirmed
our victory over the fire demon in I he contest of the day
before, and proclaimed a haven of some comfort for
all who could gather under its folds, and a nucleus in
the restoration of the city. On the sidewalk around the
building was an encampment made of all kinds of impro-
vised shelters, occupied by several hundreds of peo-
ple. In some way, they had found that the fountains in
front of the building were a source of fresh water, one of
the very few supplies available in the entire burned dis-
trict. As the sidewalks and the two lawn spaces in front
of the building offered a camping place, as many as could
be accommodated located there. Having an abundant sup-
ply of fresh water in our wells, I had a couple of pipe
lines run to convenient places near the sidewalk, and for
two or three days there were lines of people awaiting
their turns at the faucets. Among the campers I found
some acquaintances and some guests from the St. Francis
Hotel. The mint people did all within their power to make
the refugees comfortable. One or two sick people were
given shelter in the building for the night.

The mint now^ being out of danger, I sent the following
message to the Director of the mint:

San Francisco, April 19, 1906.
(Forwarded from Oakland.)

As feared, the balance of the business part of the city
was destroyed last night. The fire is now raging in the
western residence section. Whole street is now being
dynamited across the path of the fire. The mint building
safe, one side scaled by heat, but interior is intact. It is
the only building in path of fire south of Market not
destroyed, except new postoffice partially burned. Appre-
hend no further trouble from fire.

The squad of soldiers stood watch with our men, but

managed in some way to get hold of liquor during the

night, and one or two of them became intoxicated and,

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

consequently, troublesome. One of them threatened to
shoot the doorkeeper who had refused to allow him to go
out of the building, acting under the directions of the
army officer in charge of the soldiers. I was sent for, as it
appeared there was going to be serious trouble. When I
arrived on the scene the troublesome soldier was loading
his rifle. He threatened to close my earthly career if I
took another step nearer or interfered with his purposes.
It was an ugly situation, but I succeeded in quieting the
fellow and induced him to unload his gun. I then found
the sergeant in charge of the squad and requested him to
take the men away, as we were now able to take care of
the building without outside help. This was about the
only incident worthy of mention occurring on the second
day in the mint. A regular watch of two hours on and
four off, on duty inside and outside of the building, was
established. The officers of the mint passed a good part
of the day on the roof, watching the progress of the fire.

The next morning I received several telegrams, among
which were two from the Secretary of the Treasury — one
asking for a statement as to the loss of life and extent
of damage and the condition of banks in neighboring
towns, and the other thanking us for saving the mint
building, and complimenting our actions. He also
requested me to recommend some action that would
enable the department to relieve the situation. In
response, I replied by wire that the stories of loss of life
had been grossly exaggerated, that I had been in position
to hear from all parts of the city, and I did not think the
list of the dead would reach more than 400; that the fire
did not travel fast and the authorities took trouble to
keep ahead of the flames, notifying people of the danger,
and caring for the helpless. "Every bank in San Fran-
cisco buried in ruins. All banks in Oakland, Berkeley,
and Alameda able to resume business. To meet the con-
ditions the suburban banks ought to have free and

— 335 —

Rcrollrrlioiis of a Newspaperman

prompt tc'lef^rapliic li-.-inslcr of luiKis. in view of the
riiinccl condilioii of siih-lrc.isury, I advise making trans-
fers direct liiroiigli the mint." 1 also reixxied that the
fire was practically under control and that it was esti-
mated that about half of llu residence section would be
saved from the flames.

The suggestion to make free transfer of funds by tele-
graph was promptly adopted, and the Secretary v,'iscly
extended the privilege to individuals in private life. This
action proved far-reaching in re-establishing a financial
system and restoring confidence in the banking institu-
tions of the city, that had been temporarily put out of
business, to say nothing of the relief afTorded people in
private life. The procedure in the transfer of money
was made very simple. A person or firm in the East
desiring to have a given sum of money delivered to a
person, firm, or corporation in San Francisco, or any
part of the state, would deposit the amount at any of the
sub-treasuries of the United States, giving the name and
address of the person to whom it was to be delivered.
These particulars would be telegraphed to me, and I
would send notices to the beneficiaries to call at the mint
and receive the money. Some idea as to the extent peo-
ple used the privilege accorded by the government can
be formed by the statement that over $40,000,000 was
transferred in less than a fortnight. The transfers ranged
in sums from $50 to over f 1,000,000 each. On the first
day of the transfers I attended to the business without
assistance; however, the next day, I had to have the help
of a couple of clerks, and in two or three days after the
transfers had so increased in number that the work
required the help of all the clerks in the mint force. Not
a dollar was lost. Only one payment, a -1^300 transfer,
was delivered to the wrong person. The person who
received it bore the same name and initials as the party
for whom it was intended. The error was discovered soon
— 336 —

H°H

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

after the payment was made, and the money was returned
at once. Not more than two or three transfers were
returned to the senders as "not called for."

On the morning of the fourth day, or on April 21, I was
able to report to the Washington authorities that all fire
had been extinguished or had burned out for the lack of
buildings to burn. Referring to the establishment of a
bureau of information, requested by the Secretary of the
Treasury at the suggestion of people anxious to learn of
the condition of relatives and friends in the ill-fated city,
I reported that I found that the relief committees, both
in San Francisco and Oakland, were trying to accomplish
the purpose with the aid of the Associated Press, though
the manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company
informed me that he thought the plan impracticable at
that time, as it would be impossible to get the desired
information over the wires, which were then more than
forty-eight hours behind in forwarding the ordinary mes-
sages filed. I also suggested "that reassuring telegrams
be spread through the country, explaining that stories of
loss of lives and condition of people had been grossly
exaggerated." I further stated that the list of dead and
injured "was exceedingly small, considering character
and extent of the disaster. No further danger, unless the
conflagration should break out anew. Officials declare
they have affairs completely in hand. Relief supplies are
coming in rapidly, and everybody is being taken care of.
Water mains being repaired."

Up to this time, business of all kinds had been sus-
pended in Oakland and other towns of the bay section,
but now the care of the homeless and helpless had been
systematized, and circumstances required that the banks
and business houses be opened again to supply the needs
of the general community of the state. Business through-
out the entire state had been paralyzed. All confidence
in the stability of the banks was for the time suspended.

— 337 —

Recollections of a Newspaperman

Depositors could not withdraw any part of tluir funds,
nor could (hey induce any one to cash their checks.
Realizing that one ol" the ^reatc^st aids in relief of the con-
dition was to re-establish the San Francisco sub-treasury,
I therefore got hold of Assistant Treasurer Jacobs,
gave him (juarters in the mint building, and advanced
him all the money he needed, thus starling him in busi-
ness without waiting for authority from Washington,
being satisfied that the emergency warranted my action
and that the Secretary of the Treasury would approve
the act, which he did, subsequently. For the same reason
I also gave the commandant at Mare Island navy yard
$50,000 with which to pay the workmen there. The Sclby
Smelting and Lead Company was probably the distributor
of the greatest amount of actual cash of any business
agency on the Coast. I sent word to the manager to
establish an office in the mint building and resume the
purchases of bullion, and we would take it off the com-
pany's hands at once. This arrangement was the means
of sending out into various parts of the state an average
of .$225,000 daily.

One of the most difficult problems confronting the busi-
ness interests of this city was the re-establishment of the
banking business that would give some kind of a financial
system at once. People had begun to feel the need of the
money buried in the vaults of the banks. There was no
telling how long before these vaults could be opened.
The banks, to meet the wants, had funds transferred from
points in the East to their credit at the mint, but there
was no place where they could keep this money and
open up for business. A committee of the bankers' asso-
ciation came to me to arrange to check against their
credits in favor of their clients, but that was impossible,
for we had no men trained in the banking business to do
the work, nor suitable books. After some discussion of
the subject, 1 proposed that the association should organ-

— 338 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

ize an emergency, or central, bank representing all the
banks of the city, using the funds in the mint to their
credit as the capital for the emergency bank, the banking
institutions forming this central bank to establish offices
in various parts of the city, where they could issue checks
on the central bank in favor of their clients, the central
bank to be officered by men of their own selection. I told
the committee that, if such plans met with their approval,
I would supply ample quarters in the mint suitable for
the transaction of the business. The plan was adopted
and worked out splendidly, meeting all requirements and
remaining in operation for several weeks, until the
various banks were able to open up in their individual
capacity. This accommodation to the bankers and to the
public was one of the benefits arising from the saving of
the mint building from destruction, making available the
three hundred and odd millions of dollars in the vaults
there. We received many expressions of appreciation
of the favors granted by the Treasury Department and
delight that the mint had been preserved to render such
great accommodation to the people of the state in the
time of its greatest necessity.

President Roosevelt increased my duties and responsi-
bilities by requesting me to act as custodian of relief
funds, then being collected in the various parts of the
country and forwarded to San Francisco. To handle this
money necessitated the detail of a couple of clerks and
several assistants. The money came to us in all shapes,
from nickels to big bills. One donation of $5000 from
a street railroad company was all in nickels. In one day
alone we received fifty-one packages of money from all
parts of the United States which took nearly two days to
count. However, I was relieved of this duty soon after the
general relief committee was organized.

I had to arrange to house and feed a lot of our men
whose places of abode had been destroyed; besides, many

— 339 —

lircollcrli'oiis of a Ncu'sjxiprniKUi

of llic ^»ii;ii"(ls IkkI (o rcni;iiii ;il llic l)iiil(liii<^, ;is it was
diniciilt to go and conic any distance. I obtained a sup-
ply of bedding and provisions from stores in Oakland.
Some of our workmen undeislood cookiiii', so we soon
bad an ("llieient reslauraiil estabbslicd in llic jjiiilding.
One day we fed 121 people at tbe noon meal. Tbe restau-
rant was continued until places outside were established,
relieving us of the necessity of feeding tbe employees.

By Saturday nigbt our electricians bad im|)rovised an
electric ligbt plant, by cbanging one of our large motors
into a generator, wbich enabled us to supply a current
sutTicient to light up the interior of the building and the
streets around the building. This gave some appearance
of cheerfulness at night in the field of desolation and
ruin around us, and was especially agreeable to the many
people encamped in our neighborhood. On Sunday I
reported to the authorities at Washington as follows :

We will open for business Monday, receiving deposits
and paying out transfer funds. All men of mint force
accounted for but four. Will have to furnish subsistence
for employees for some little time, getting principal sup-
plies from army headquarters, only buying such things as
can not be obtained there. Much activity in city prepara-
tory to resumption of business. Last of fire extinguished
during night; relief supplies coming in abundance. Peo-
ple generally in comfortable condition. Relief committee
patrolling streets hunting for distressed.

On April 23, or the following day, I was able to report
that every man of the mint force had been accounted for,
and that the United States Signal Co^ps had run a wire
into the mint building and established an ollice there,
putting us in direct connection with the rest of the world.

As soon as the minds of the people reverted to the
subject of renewal of business and the reopening of the
obstructed streets to permit the operation of the street
railroad lines, the city authorities placed a crew of men
in the burned district, blowing down standing ruins of
brick buildings with dynamite, and other crews of men
— 340 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

were set to work clearing the streets of debris. For the
latter work it was difficult to obtain all the laborers
needed, therefore citizens, regardless of station or occu-
pation, were impressed, through aid of soldiers, and were
made to donate about a half hour's labor before being
released. Nearly everybody caught and put to work
made light of the aftair, but now and then some of the
impressed created a scene. A young lawyer from one of
our neighboring states, who had come to San Francisco
to gratify his curiosity by viewing the ruins of the city,
was one of the captured who was not excused from per-
forming the task allotted to him. He made violent pro-
test, and his feelings were so outraged that he did not
miss an opportunity to denounce all officials, state and
city, for several years thereafter.

The work of dynamiting was conducted in a most
unskilful manner, doing considerable damage to the
structures that had wholly or partially escaped destruc-
tion in the conflagration. It was necessary that the tot-
tering walls remaining from the ruins of many of the
large buildings along the principal thoroughfares should
be leveled before the people could with safety use the
streets, or the street cars be allowed to run. Nearly all the
class "A" buildings were intact, so far as the walls and
floors were concerned, and offered no menace. It was the
buildings constructed before the introduction of steel
frames that supplied the menacing piles of brick, and it
was this kind of structures that predominated in the busi-
ness section of the city.

The crew of dynamiters apparently had little knowl-
edge of the use of explosives, and less experience. They
seemed to work on the principle that, if a small amount
of powder was good, a large amount would be better.
About the first work they attempted was the demolishing
of the standing walls of what had been the Odd Fellows'
Building at the corner of Seventh and Market streets.

HrcollccUous of (I Ncivspapcr/nan

They sol od' so imich (lyiiimiitc llicrc lli;il tlicy not only
threw down the wnlls intenchd to Ix- leveled, hut tlie
force of the explosion hiew in ;ill (he windows of th(; post-
oflicc huildinf», a hlock away from the scene of the explo-
sion, hesides which many doors were torn from their
hinges and much of the marhle work of the structure was
displaced and hroken. I was told by Mr. J. W. Roberts,
assistant to the United States supervising architect, that
one blast of dynamite did more damage than was occa-
sioned by the lire and earthquake together, and that the
cost of repairs to the building was made $100,000 greater
by reason of the careless work. The mint building was
damaged also on this occasion, and further injury was in-
flicted by subsequent blasting done nearer to our building,
not a pane of glass being left whole. I recovered a piece
of iron, about a quarter of a pound in weight, that was
thrown by a blast set off nearly a quarter of a mile away
and which landed in our court, as well as pieces of iron
bolts and fragments of bricks that landed on or in the
building from other blasts. I made a vigorous protest
against this manner of blasting, and at the same time
offered to supply men experienced in the use of explo-
sives, guaranteeing that the work would be executed thor-
oughly and quickly, without danger to the people or
property, but no attention was paid to my protest or offer.
I then sent a communication to Mayor Schmitz contain-
ing a protest in about the same terms. He promptly
replied, saying: "I shall take great pleasure in having
your request complied with. I will have the man in
charge of the dynamiting of the unsafe walls call upon
you tomorrow^ morning and will instruct him to arrange
matters satisfactory to you."

The man called the "next morning," not to "arrange
matters," but apparently to show his independence and
his defiance of all authorit>% for all that he had to say
was to look out for ourselves, as he was going to throw

— 342 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

down the walls of the big Emporium building that fore-
noon. Being certain that the walls of that building were
in no danger of falling and consequently could not menace
traffic, and that to dynamite them was not only useless
and would result in injury to government property, but
was an outrage on the owners of the Emporium building,
I repeated my protest to General Funston, then in charge
of the troops and representing the government here. He
promptly sent a colonel, whose name I do not now recall,
with a couple of troopers to confer with me and empow-
ered to act. It was then late in the forenoon. The dyna-
miters had been working up Market Street toward the
Emporium, with apparent determination to carry out
their purpose of demolishing that structure, or what was
left of it. The concussions from the blasting w^ere so
heavy that injury to our building in some form followed
every explosion. The falling material placed the lives of
those in and about the mint in great danger, and we were
compelled to suspend the work of repairs. When I
explained the situation to the colonel he was inclined
to take issue with me, intimating that we were unneces-
sarily alarmed. While he was trying to assure me there
was no danger to be apprehended and that work was in
good hands, etc., a tremendous blast under the ruins of
the old Phelan Block was set off. Although this explosion
was located nearly a quarter of a mile away, a shower
of missiles fell in our vicinity; the vibrations were most
severe; the crashing of falling glass in the mint building
was terrific. The colonel involuntarily ducked his head
as if he were dodging the explosion of a 14-inch shell.
It was unnecessary for me to make reply to his argu-
ments. I simply looked at him, my countenance undoubt-
edly wearing a significant expression of "didn't I tell you
so?" The colonel, upon regaining his composure, in a
very gentlemanly way acknowledged his error and said he
would stop the outrageous work at once. He prevented

— 343 —

liccollcclions of (I Ncipspapcrrjian

Ihe (Icshiulioii of llic I'.mporiiiDj \v;i)Is miuI all further
heavy blasliu^ in llic vicinily ol" llie mint. It may be of
interest lo note that llic imposing front of llic jjicsciit l)ij4
Emporium huildinf,' is the same front that passed through
tlie eartlupiakc and fire, whieh was doomed to he leveled
by the inexperienced crew of dynanuters. We were now
able to resume repairs on our building and transact busi-
ness. The mint was the center of all financial afTairs. Its
halls and corridors were filled during business hours with
people called there by business requirements. They were
making use of the privileges and benefits arising from the
preservation of the mint building and the great stock of
money in its vaults. I do not know what would have
happened had the mint suffered the fate of the other
financial institutions. The banks were timid enough as it
was with the mint funds available, and the condition was
made worse by some disturbance of confidence in the
banks. Within a week after the fire the streets of San
Francisco presented a remarkable scene of life and activ-
ity; teams of every description, crowds of people on foot
coming and going in all directions, gangs of men at work
clearing away the debris from the streets, some at work
erecting temporary structures in which to resume busi-
ness, others engaged in making repairs on gas and water
pipes, restoring telegraph and power lines, and laying
railroad tracks through the burned district to facilitate
the removal of debris. Everybody seemed busy, and all
wore expressions of determination, as well as confidence
in the future greatness of San Francisco.

In sweeping over the business section the fire performed
some strange antics. A small two-story brick building
on the northwest corner of Second and Mission streets
was scarcely scorched; a canvas awning used for a shelter
for a cigar stand there was only partially destroyed; the
window panes were left intact, and the merchandise inside
the structure was uninjured. 1 was told that the first
— 344 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

information the owner of the property had of the remark-
able incident was when a friend congratulated him on his
good fortune, about a week after the fire. He had sup-
posed the place went the way of everything else in that
part of the city, and had not attempted to visit it.
On the Second Street side, as well as on the Mission Street
side of the little building, were located extra tall build-
ings, both of which were gutted by the fire, but in some
way they served to protect their little neighbor from the
conflagration.

A tall office building on Montgomery Street had its lower
and upper stories burned out, while the three or four
floors between wholly escaped all damage from the
flames; the lucky occupants of the offices on these floors
found their possessions, books, and papers undamaged.
An entire block of buildings bounded by Montgomery,
Sansome, Jackson, and Merchant streets was passed by the
flames, while all else in the neighborhood except the
United States Appraiser's building in the east block
adjoining was laid low by the devouring elements. This
was the business center of the city in early days, and the
large old-fashioned brick building in the district described
was the largest and most important structure in the city
for some years and was known as the Montgomery Block,
and some of the adjoining structures were among the very
oldest buildings in San Francisco. After the fire, for a
few months, the old Montgomery Block was once more a
place of importance and a center of business activity,
such as it had not known for a score or more of years.

For several weeks after the disaster the streets of that
part of the city escaping the fire presented novel scenes
arising from the fact that all housekeepers were obliged
to cook their meals in the street. The city authorities
would not allow lights or fire of any kind to be used in
any of the houses until they were inspected. When all
leaking gaspipes and damaged chimneys had been found

— 3^5 —

liccollcctioiis of a Scivspupcniiaii

nnd repaired, cerlifieales were issued |jy the inspector
peiMiiilliiii; llie use of liqlils aud lite s in the houses. The
eookini^ or kitchen dexiecs that I'l-onlcd ncaily every resi-
dence on the street were greatly varied in lorn). Sonic
liad f[uite ehd)()rate kitchens, with inf^enious arrangements
of hricks for service as range or stoves, while others
were satisfied wilii the most j)ritnilive outfits. 'I'he rule
was strictly enforced; the guards and police were given
instructions to even shoot if necessary to secure compli-
ance with the ordinance. The utmost vigilance was used
to prevent the breaking out of fires in this part of the
city until the water mains were repaired and the fire
department re-established. The people were extremely
nervous, as well they might be, for if another fire had
started, with no water, and a disorganized fire depart-
ment, the remainder of the city would undoubtedly have
been swept by flames.

There was considerable difference in the estimates made
as to the number of fatalities resulting from the earth-
quake and the fire following. At the request of Secretary-
Shaw of the Treasury Department, I looked into this
feature of the disaster with care and sent him reports
from time to time of my findings and conclusions. At
first, or a few days after the fire had been extinguished,
my figures on the total of those killed outright and those
who died from the result of injuries received only reached
a number of about four hundred, but after the ruins
cooled off, in the work of clearing away the debris in
the burned district, the remains of other unfortunates
were found, adding somewhat more than a hundred to
the list of fatalities. In my final report to the Secretary,
I fixed the number of killed at approximately five hun-
dred people. The record as kept by the city authorities
exceeded my figures, as I remember, by fifteen or twenty.
Undoubtedly these figures were near the truth, and they
would fix the ratio of deaths by the disaster at but a
— 346 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

trifle over one person to each thousand of population.
The greatest number of deaths at any one place occurred
on Valencia Street, where a three-story frame hotel
building was thrown down by the earthquake. The first
and second stories appeared to have telescoped and
were then crushed flat by the weight of the third story,
which practically retained its shape as it sank down on
the wreck below. The dead and injured were removed
some time before the fire swept that section. The num-
ber killed was reported at twenty-seven. The hotel had
been erected on a piece of filled ground, where the effect
of the earthquake was most severely felt. The piece of
filled ground was less than a block wide and extended
from the hills to the bay. After the earthquake the out-
lines of the filled section could be traced for the entire
distance by the wrecked buildings located on it.

It was very remarkable how quickly on that first morn-
ing an efficient organization was effected for the care and
treatment of the hundreds of injured people. Temporary
hospitals, with physicians, surgeons, nurses, and help,
were provided like magic in various parts of the city.
One or two of these hospitals were compelled to remove
their patients once or twice to avoid the course of the
flames. I do not recall ever having seen an official
statement of the number of injured treated; but from
conversation with some of those who officiated in the
hospitals I formed the opinion that the total would not
exceed fifteen hundred persons.

THE RELIEF WORK

There was no delay in giving relief to the homeless suf-
ferers. The people in San Francisco who escaped from
the earthquake and fire seemed to know at once their
duty to the unfortunates, and how to perform it without
suggestions. That inborn power of leadership with which
nature endows a man here and there, only to be made

— 3^7 —

licrollcctioiis of (I Nrins[f(tf)('rm(iti

iiinnifcsl ;m<l cxcrciscil in crises iind grciit ciiuTf^ciuies,
gave an immediate supply of IcMdcrs ;ind directors at
several j)oints in the city, willioul the lorinidily of selec-
tion or other means. The ijadge of natural leadersliip
was (|uickly recognized hy tlie common workers. There
were j)laces of refui»i' made at once for the sick and the
injured, and food provided for the hungry. In the course
of a few days the temj)()rary relief measures gave way to
control by most complete organizations on both sides of
the bay, which were maintained for several months, or
until all need of their work was ended.

It will never be known how mucli was the money or
what the value of the goods and provisions contributed
for the relief of the sufferers, as so much relief work was
given directly to the needy, and through agencies and
organizations other than the ones under the direction and
control of the municipal authorities. Not a few firms
and individuals chose to expend what they had to con-
tribute in the earliest stages of the crisis by direct
distribution to the needy or in other ways to relieve the
situation. Many social, fraternal, and similar organiza-
tions, which sought to aid in relief work, preferred to have
their contributions go directly to suffering or unfortunate
members of their societies.

Many thousands of dollars were raised in Oakland and
other cities near San Francisco, and expended by relief
associations in those communities, for the care of refugees
from San Francisco. These amounts were not and could
not be accounted for in the statements of disbursements
by the San Francisco relief committee. In Oakland alone,
the local relief organizations expended $100,000 of its
own collections in addition to '$10,000 given to it by the
San Francisco organization. The Standard Oil Company
established and maintained a camp for the care of the
helpless and homeless near Richmond at its own cost,
the expenditures not being accounted for nor made a part

— 3iS —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

of the total expended by the general relief committee of
San Francisco.

In the month that I acted as treasurer and custodian of
the general relief funds, from April 27, I received from
contributors in San Francisco, the state. United States,
and foreign countries, the sum of $2,409,656.35. A large
part of this sum was disbursed on orders from the proper
officials of the general relief committee. When several
of the large banking firms were able to resume business
on June 1, I insisted upon being relieved of the responsi-
bility of handling these funds, and turned over the
balance to the banks designated for the purpose.

The actual cash remitted direct to San Francisco and
accounted for by the Relief Association was $8,921,452.86,
and additional funds were acquired from the sale of sur-
plus and perishable relief supplies, interest, etc., to the
extent of $751,605.08, making a grand total of $9,673,057.94.

In addition to what has been enumerated, nearly
$50,000 was expended by the Red Cross Society in Wash-
ington, from San Francisco relief subscriptions, and the
government appropriation of $2,500,000 was disbursed
entirely by and under direction of the War Department,
principally for bedding, tents, medical supplies, mainte-
nance of relief camps, food, clothing, etc. Neither was
the value of the two thousand carloads of food supplies,
clothing, etc., ever computed in dollars and cents. In
all probability the total amount disbursed in relief work,
counted in money, if ever it could be determined, would
reach a sum somewhere between fourteen and fifteen
millions of dollars.

The larger part of this great sum was contributed
within the United States. Contributions from other coun-
tries would have been generous but for the proclamation
of President Roosevelt practically declining aid from out-
side countries. Nevertheless, England, France, Germany,
Japan, and Mexico were represented in the list of con-

— 3^9 —

Recollections of a Newspapprnian

tributors, Japan being tbe largest, sending nearly a quar-
ter million of dollars. 'IMic ( inperor of that country gave
about $1()(),()()() of the amount himself. One of the most
noteworthy features of this record of generosity and
expression of worhl-wide human sympathy was the con-
tribution in the stricken city itself of the sum of $113,090
by the citizens and business men there, nearly all of
whom had themselves been injured in property losses.
Undoubtedly there were other contributions of money and
supplies from this source which were not reported or
handed in to the general committee, but were made
directly by the donors, and which would swell the total
of San Francisco's donations to its sufferers to more than
a half million of dollars.

The particulars of how the relief funds were expended
would fill a volume of large size. All the people whose
homes were destroyed were not helpless. Many of them
were people of means, and there were many who soon
found refuge with relations or friends in the unburned
district of the city and elsewhere. So, after the first few
days of the disaster, the number of refugees depending
upon the relief committee was reduced to the helpless
as well as the homeless, of which there were estimated to
be some 30,000, but by the latter part of September,
following the fire, the number of refugees being cared for
by the committee was about 18,000. Some fifteen or
twenty camps were established in various parts of the
city. When it was found that the relief committee would
of necessity have to care for several thousand helpless
people for several months to come, the camps were made
in the most comfortable shape, tents were floored, the
grounds were put in the most complete sanitary condi-
tion and scrupulous cleanliness was enforced by army
officers. Hot and cold water and bathhouses were pro-
vided in all the camps. Before the winter was over,

— 350 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

wooden shacks and small cottages largely replaced the
tents.

It was frequently remarked that many of the inmates
of those camps enjoyed more comforts than they had
been accustomed to; but no one begrudged them that.
It was a satisfaction to know that all efforts to make the
unfortunates comfortable in healthy and pleasant sur-
roundings were so successful.

In addition to the camps, some ten or twelve kitchens
and eating places were established in July in various
parts of the city by the relief committee. These places
furnished meals at low prices to those able to pay. Those
who were unable to pay presented meal tickets supplied
under authority of the relief committee. During the
first month the kitchens furnished 20,867 meals, but by
the end of September, or the third month, many privately
owned restaurants had been established and the need of
the public kitchen was no longer felt, so these latter
institutions were discontinued.

The relief committee was composed of some of the
most successful and prominent business men and capital-
ists in San Francisco, and they brought to the organization
the very best talent for the kind of work in hand. They
knew what was needed and how to accomplish it. After
housing the homeless, they began the more serious and
difficult work of replacing these people in their former
positions in the industrial world. Hundreds of sewing-
machines were given outright to women who needed
them to earn a livelihood, and to other women who had
large families to care for. Many thousands of dollars
were expended for mechanics' tools given to men to
enable them to find employment at their various trades.

Nearly one million of dollars was expended in build-
ing new dwellings to aid those whose homes had been
burned. This was one of the very creditable and success-
ful features of the relief work. By aid received the com-

— 351 —

lircollcclions of (t Newapoprrmini

iiiitlcc cfTccU'd llic (•oiisliiitlioii of over ci^lit thousand
{l\v<'lliii,i«s ill llic city. Tlic rccjiiircmcnts of this work pro-
longed the labors of th(> coniniiltcc nearly two years after
the camp system was discontinued. The remnant of the
refugees by August, 11)08, was only about seven hundred,
all aged and infirm. Tlie committee constructed a per-
manent home for liiese unforlunalcs and gave it to the
city, and the municipal authorities then assumed the care
of the building and inmates.

The final report of the relief committee was filed Janu-
ary 4, 1911.

The relief work described was repeated in Oakland
and other cities around the bay along the same lines, but
not on so large a scale.

LOSSES AND RECONSTRUCTION

The territory swept by the conflagration measured four
miles in length in a northerly and southerly course by
three miles in width east and west. Every bank, every
theater, every hotel of importance, all newspaper ofTices,
telegraph offices, libraries, municipal buildings, and nearly
all of the business houses in San Francisco were destroyed
by the conflagration. The value of the property thus
wiped out of existence was placed near five hundred mil-
lions of dollars. About one-half of the loss was recovered
through insurance. San Francisco was struck a stag-
gering blow, but, fortunately, the people of San Francisco
were in the best condition to meet it. For some time
past the city had been enjoying a wonderful degree of
prosperity. The business section was handling the great-
est volume of trade it had ever known. Mechanics and
laborers were all employed, receiving the best of wages.
Building was going on at a greater rate than ever known
before. Real estate values were advancing most rapidly,
making old-timers wag their heads with astonishment.
In every direction the city was expanding and on every

— 352 —

Upper — The nortli side ol' llic I'liitcd States Mini HiiiI<Iiiijj;. show inn liow the lire
scarred the walls.

Lower — A scene of desolation taken a few <la>s altc r the lire from the I'oof of
the United States Mint, looking northwesterly.

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

hand there was evidence of thrift and prosperity. The
banks were in the best of condition, proof of which lies
in the fact that when the disaster came they had over
twenty milHons of surplus coin on deposit in banks of
the Eastern cities.

The majority of the people who saw their businesses
swept away by the fire were financially able to resume
the struggle with the world, and naturally the question of
where to begin came to them. Where?

Should it be in New York, where business is conducted
on the lines of keenest competition, and where every
phase of living is in such direct contrast to the freedom
enjoyed by Calif ornians? Or in Chicago, Philadelphia,
Boston, Baltimore, or similar cities, where the conditions
of home life might be better than in the city of the Empire
State, but business conditions for a stranger and new-
comer would be more complex? Everywhere it would
be a beginning among strangers — a crowding in where
the fight of the "survival of the fittest" was always on.
At best, the establishing of a business elsewhere would
be experimental.

It only required a moment's consideration of the oppor-
tunities at home to settle the question. San Francisco
was the place for them, where they were known and
where there were still over three hundred thousand peo-
ple to be fed, clothed, and housed. Here there was an
adjacent country big enough for an empire, and as rich
in possibilities as any land on God's footstool, for which
San Francisco was the bank and clearing house, the
shipping point for the products, and the supply house
for the needs. San Francisco was the place for them,
for had not the commercial hand of the Orient and the
islands been reaching out to this port, taking more and
more of the things we grow and make, and returning to
us things that the people of the Occident crave and need?
San Francisco then was the place to renew business,

— 353 —

lircollrclioiis of a Ncivspaprrnuiii

where llie eondilioiis not only invited hiil dc in;mded it,
with the promise of {»reat profit.

The decision was instantly made, and ix lore the smoke
of the conflagration had entirely hlown away, or tlie heat
j)assed out of llie fallen (h-hris, the noise and activities
attending the cleaning and rebuilding amid the ruins were
heard and seen on every hand. The banks quickly quar-
tered themselves in makeshift structures built around
their undamaged vaults, and sent for their millions in
New York and elsewhere, to be properly prepared for the
unusual drafts anticipated on their surplus. But, to the
great surprise of all, the banks upon opening received
more money on deposit than they paid out! That the
trade of the great country tributary to San Francisco and
the adjoining states might not suffer, and that the people
of our city might be furnished with the necessities of life
and supplies for rehabilitating the city, it was apparent
that the first thing to be done was to order goods and
prepare temporary structures in which to house them
and the people engaged in business. All over the burned
district these structures began to make their appearance.
They were not all pretty and not all homely, but suffi-
cient and suitable for the purposes intended. Trainloads
of goods began to arrive and the new stores and ware-
houses were filled up as fast as completed. Within a
marvelously short time, the streets of the city, the water
front, and the depots of the Southern Pacific and the
Santa Fe companies showed the life of trade and com-
merce. The erection of buildings continued, the volume
of trade increased, and the incoming freight crowded
upon the merchants faster than they could take it away.
The main business streets, from early morn to niglit,
presented daily one continual procession of teams laden
with goods, coming and going. A great many retailers
and professional men located in that part of the city
between Van Ness Avenue and Filhnore Street, which
— 354 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of i906

escaped the fire, the former street becoming the location
for the larger and more important retail business houses.
For some time afterwards it was a much discussed ques-
tion whether or not these firms would remain there per-
manently, and thus bring around a radical change of the
business center of the city. Van Ness Avenue, being a
wide and beautiful street, presented a lively and attractive
appearance while trade was located there, but as soon
as new permanent buildings were erected down town in
the old retail section, and office buildings were restored,
the stores and professional men returned to the neighbor-
hood where they had transacted business in the years
before the fire, and the district that had given them tempo-
rary accommodation was largelj'^ restored to use for pri-
vate residences. Van Ness Avenue became the automobile
mart of the city. Fillmore Street, however, was a busi-
ness street before the fire, and it did not lose much by
the return of business firms to their old locations down
town. Immediately after the conflagration, when people
began to discuss the subject of replacing the buildings
destroyed by the fire, there was expressed much differ-
ence of opinion as to the time it would take. Many
thought that such a gigantic undertaking could not be
accomplished inside of twenty years, and I think ten
years was most commonly fixed upon as the length of time
required. When asked for my judgment, 1 said that after
five years people would have to hunt around the business
section of San Francisco to find any remaining evidence
of the great disaster. Considering the matter eight years
after the terrible event, it must be admitted that I was
nearly correct as to the time in which the business sec-
tion would be restored, yet it must be acknowledged that
the entire burned district had not been rebuilt. The
old residential section north of Market is being rehabili-
tated with apartment houses, giving place to the possi-
bilities of a much denser population than existed in the

— 355 —

Recollections of a Newspaperman

saiiu> l)<)im<l;iri(s before llie lire. In llie district boiiiHled
by Miiikel, Mnsoii, CMlifoiiiia, and Larkin streets th(;re is
probably more than a ([iiarter of tin; area still uncovered,
but the fine, large apartment houses and hotels that have
taken the sites of former residences and flats are housing
in the same area possibly ten times as many people as
were living there before tiie lire. There are still many
vacant lots in the old cheap tenement district south of
Mission Street which are slowly coming into occupation
for warehouses, factories, and cheap boardini' and lodging
houses. San Francisco lost heavily in population by the
conflagration. I should judge by an estimate from the
number of votes cast before and after at elections, and
the statistics furnished by the school census, that fully
one-third of the people living in San Francisco, through
fear of recurrence of earthquakes, loss of homes, prop-
erty and like reasons, left the city with the idea of
permanently abandoning the place. Not a few of these
people in the course of time undoubtedly changed their
minds and returned to the city. These, with the new-
comers, gave a fairly rapid growth to the population, but
the number of the population before the fire was hardly
restored until five years after the disaster.

STRANGE EFFECTS

There were numerous instances of remarkable and
queer mental disturbances in individuals caused by their
experience in those four days of fire, the earthquake on
April 18, and the seven lesser shocks that followed on
that and subsequent days. People who were apparently
sane and rational on all other matters would relate scenes
of accident, robbery, and violence, wholesale slaughter of
people by falling buildings, fire, and by shooting by the
soldiers, etc. Stories of mutilation of the dead by ghoul-
ish robbers, for earrings and finger rings were most com-
mon and for a time were generally accepted as being
— 356 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

true, but I never learned of a single authenticated instance
of such a crime. In one case a story came to my ears
with much detail of facts of how a man was caught in
the act of cutting off the fingers of a victim of the fire
to obtain some valuable rings, and when his clothes were
searched a pocketful of human fingers was found; then
and there his captors promptly punished the criminal
with death by hanging. The circumstances were alleged
to have taken place at a point quite near to the mint. I
was therefore enabled to make an investigation and I
found that there was not the slightest foundation for the
story. An afternoon newspaper gave credit to an absurd
story that the mint had been assailed by a band of rob-
bers in broad daylight, but that the guards or watchmen
employed by the government had succeeded in defeating
the attempt at robbery, and in accomplishing this they
killed at least eleven of the robbers, whose dead bodies
were left where they fell. Of course the facts were related
with much more detail than attempted here. It was not
so very strange that a newspaper should publish an
unwarranted yarn like this, and I am only referring to it
here as an instance in support of the opening words of
this paragraph. This will be understood by the statement
that on the evening of the publication my son Harry was
refuting the story to a coterie of acquaintances, when a
stranger standing near, overhearing his denial, inter-
rupted him, saying that he was wrong and that the story
was true, for he saw the affray himself, witnessing the
shooting and seeing some of the men fall. The reported
attack was as baseless as it was untrue. There was no
attack; there was no row or even a dispute on the mint
steps or about the building. One man told me, with con-
siderable emotion (I think it was on the fourth day after
the earthquake), that he had occasion to go over into the
northern part of the burned district, and in order to reach
a particular place he was compelled to pass through a

— 357 —

Recollections of a Newspapernuu)

block wlicrc the dead bodies of cMrlhqiinke victims still
lay -so lliick that bo bad dillicully in ^cAl'iufj, alonf? without
sl('])|)ing on some of Ihcm. As I was galhcriiig facts on
wbicli to base a report of the fatalities, at the rccjucst ot
the Secretary, I made an investigation of this statement
and found it to be like the others described — without
foundation. On returning home from the mint Thursday
night about dusk, I stood on the rear deck of the ferry
boat, discussing with a well-known newspaper corre-
spondent the progress of the fire and the possibilities of
getting it under control. Reaching the station at Seventh
and Broadway, we walked up the street, when he sud-
denly remarked, "That was a terrible sight, wasn't it?"
I asked him to what he referred. "Why, the burning of
the ferry building as we left it, with the people trapped
in there," said be. I replied that it could hardly be so,
as there was no fire within a mile of the building at that
time. He looked at me with astonishment, and said that
he could not understand why I did not see it, for he had
watched the flames lapping up the great structure, from
his position on the boat all the way across the bay, and
that we had scarcely left the slip when the fire burst out
from many places in the building, and it was so sudden
that undoubtedly hundreds of people in the building must
have been caught and burned to death. I saw by his
manner and expression that he was so certain of the truth
of what he had stated that it would be unprofitable to
discuss the matter further with him. More than likely,
reporters affected in the same strange way were the par-
ties responsible for the many wild, baseless, and lurid
reports of the doings of the earthquake and fire, pub-
lished not only in our state but throughout all parts of
the world reached by telegraphic service. At the time
of the disaster there was no motive for resorting to "fake"
statements, for there were more facts and details of truth,
sensational in character, than place or space could be
— 35S —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

found for in any newspaper. Only a disordered brain
could account for the publication of hourly bulletins in
a nearby city, describing with horrible detail the gradual
submergence in the waters of the bay of Oakland, Berke-
ley, and Alameda, accompanied by a terrible loss of life.
Such, however, is a sample of hundreds of baseless reports
of features of the great disaster that found publication in
all parts of the United States, I can not believe they were
wilfully made by the reporters with knowledge that they
were untrue.

LOSSES AND INSURANCE

The exact value of the property destroyed in the dis-
aster will never be known. The fire swept over the city
too quickly to give an opportunity to survey the havoc
wrought by the earthquake alone. While the damage
from this source was considerable, it probably was not
a hundredth part of the total losses made by the fire
that followed. In a recent discussion of the fire loss
with George W. Dornin, one of the best informed insur-
ance men on the Pacific Coast, he gave some figures con-
firming the estimate made by business men soon after the
disaster, which was that the total property loss, not includ-
ing contingent losses, such as disruption of business, was
somewhere between $400,000,000 and $500,000,000. The
exact amount of insurance on the property was not
known. It could only be approximated, and this was
estimated at from $200,000,000 to $225,000,000. As near as
could be determined, $164,916,659 was paid to the insured
on their losses, which sum included the amount recovered
in after years from companies which litigated the losses.
Mr. Dornin estimated that the defaulted insurance
amounted to about $8,000,000.

Fire patrol statistics for a series of years show that
the uninsured loss equals the insured loss, so that if the
estimate of the amount of insurance in force, $200,000,000,
is correct, it would indicate the total loss in the great

— 359 —

Recollrrfions of a N ewspaperman

c'onfl.'ifTrntion was double llio amount, or .'i^lOf),00(),f)0().
Of flic iusurjiiice paid, ('..ilifornia comj);ini(s p.iid over
if;iI,()(KMKH), oIIkt American companies nearly ^K.\,m{)S\(){),
and foreign companies nearly fyi/KKI/KX).

rOHHESPONDENCE

I conclude my story of the earthquake and fire by
appending copies of a few of the letters I received and
replies made, which may give some additional interest to
the history of the great disaster, as well as make clearer
some of the situations I attempted to describe. There is
also included copy of a letter sent by an employee of the
mint, Joe Hammill, to his brother, which gives a vivid
description of how the United States mint building was
saved. It follows:

San Francisco, May 11, 1906.

Dear Brother — You have heard many conflicting
accounts of how the United States mint was saved, and I
want you to know the exact facts as they were, as I saw
them on April 18.

When the earthquake at 5:15 a. m. rocked the city,
hundreds of buildings south of Market Street were either
thrown down or badly shattered. The mint, however,
escaped serious damage, though its great chimneys are
both badly cracked and seem to lean toward the center
of the building, where a great court is located. Small
chimneys were thrown in every direction and furniture
overturned. Fire broke out shortly after the earthquake
and by 9 o'clock the entire district south of Mission was
a mass of fire, which leaped from block to block as though
running through dry grass. It swept Mission Street clean,
scorching the south side of the mint but doing no great
damage, for the iron shutters on the windows shielded the
inner woodwork of the oftices and melting room.

Superintendent Frank A. Leach arrived at the mint
from Oakland early in the morning, and immediately took
charge of operations. Through his coolness and ability
the men under him worked to the best advantage. He
took his turn at the hose with the others, and did not
ask his men to go where he would not go himself. It is
remarkable how he has stood the strain of the fire and
press of business since.

— 360 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

About fifty of the mint employees succeeded in reach-
ing the building before the soldiers barred the way to
all comers. Then a detachment of artillerymen, com-
manded by Lieutenant G. W. Armstrong of the Sixth
Infantry, entered the building to serve more as a guard
than as a band of firefighters. Later, Lieutenant Arm-
strong and a few of his men did take an active part. . . .

Within the yard of the mint is an artesian well which
proved the only water available. The pump connections
were badly broken by the earthquake, yet the engineer,
Jack Brady, did a lightning job in repairing the pumping
plant, making connections in short order that ordinarily
would require a long time. He finished his splendid work
just in time to supply the fire fighters with two streams
of water.

Meanwhile the fire swept up Fifth Street, devouring the
Metropolitan Temple, the Lincoln school, and the great
Emporium. These huge buildings, full of inflammable
material, sent great bursts of flame two or three hundred
feet into the air. The hot breath of the fire fiend made
our roof very uncomfortable for those who w^ere up there.
On the west side, a lot of frame buildings made a fierce
heat that was hard to stand against, especially since the
openings of our roof were bursting into flames from the
flying cinders.

With three others I had the pleasure of working for
over an hour on this shaky roof, throwing buckets of
water on the blazes as they sprang up. At any moment
another earthquake might have sent the great chimneys
tumbling down on our heads. Three of us refinery men
then went down into our department, which is located
at the northwest corner of the top floor. Here we knew
we would catch it most of all, for the fire was now burn-
ing over toward Market Street in the group of structures
comprising Hale's, Brenner's, Emma Spreckels and Wind-
sor Hotel buildings. Fanned by a whirlwind of their own
making, the flames leaped 200 feet against the north wall
of the mint. The roaring was awful as the great build-
ings crashed and fell, while the bursting of large pieces
from our own walls sounded like shells exploding against
our mint. We stuck to the windows until they molted,
playing a stream of water on the blazing woodwork. Then,
as the flames leaped in and the smoke nearly choked us,
we were ordered downstairs, for it was supposed that
the mint was doomed.

— 561 —

Recollrrlions of a Nrivspaprrman

Employees imd soldiers stood .iroiind the door, nenrly
slr;iii,L;li 11.14, ■'•"<' woiideriiii* \vli;it clinncc we would have
for our IJN'es if we were driven into the street, wl)ere
masses of" llames bordered either side. Some, who for rea-
sons best known to themselves, did not show up when
the mint was in danger, now say we could have escaped
if we wanted to. There is not a man of us, whose judg-
ment is worth anything, who does not know that we were
prisoners and fighting for our lives, as well as the preser-
vation in good shape of over .%300,000,000 in the vaults.

Finally we made our way back through the smoke to
the refinery, and with a hose succeeded in putting out
the burning interior, where the flames had gotten under
lively headway. We then climbed out on to the roof and
played the hose on the red hot copper surface over the
gold kettles. There we worked for an hour, ripping up
sheet copper and playing the water and using the hose
where they would do the most good.

At a little before 5 o'clock we were free to go and see
what had become of our various homes. The north side
of Market Street had not then burned, and after dancing
over the hot cobbles of Fifth Street for a block we
reached the sheltered side and looked back on the battle-
scarred mint.

Treasury Department,
Washington, May 1, 1906.

My Dear Mr. Leach : — On April 20 I sent you a telegram
as follows:

"Accept thanks for your heroic conduct, and that of the
men under you. What national banks arc there in San
Francisco or suburbs in condition to do business? What
action by this department would j'ou recommend to
relieve the situation? Can you locate Assistant Treasurer
Jacobs or his deputy?"

I now write to confirm the same and to say to you and
through you to your associates how much the department
appreciates the heroic work performed by you and them.
It requires courage of the highest rank to defend a single
building from within while ever^'thing burns on four
sides. Again I congratulate you. I also thank you for
your telegram of the 21st ultimo, which conveys much
interesting information. Very sincerely yours,

(Signed) L. M. Shaw.
Honorable F. A. Leach. Superintendent United States
Mint, San Francisco, Cal.

— 362 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

May 15, 1906.
Honorable L. M. Shaw, Secretary of the Treasury, Wash-
ington, D. C:

My Dear Sir — I assure you that I greatly appreciate the
commendations you have so generously bestowed upon
us here at the mint. While the men had a pretty hot time
of it, and it was hard to tell which would conquer, the
fire or the mint employees, still I am afraid that distance
has magnified the achievement of saving the building.
Nevertheless, it is most gratifying to know that what was
done has given satisfaction and pleasure to you and other
officials of the department. It was also very gratifying to
us to note that the banking interests showed their appre-
ciation of your prompt and energetic action which did so
much to give stability to the financial conditions.

The mint building is a very busy place now, containing,
as it does, the "Bank of All Banks," the Assistant Treas-
urer, cashier's department for the receipt and disburse-
ment of the relief fund, the refinery agency, the mint gold
deposit business, and, last but not least, our restaurant,
the only one so far for miles.

I have the emergency repairs to the building well along.
These repairs consist mainly in replacing the destroyed
windows and frames, of which there are over sixty-odd
in number. Notwithstanding the large additions to our
family, everything is running smoothly, without confusion
or rush. Respectfully yours,

Frank A. Leach, Superintendent.

May 2, 1906.

Mr. F. A. Leach, Superintendent, United States Mint, San
Francisco, Cat.:

My Dear Mr. Leach — I have just received a letter from
Mr. Bert Clark, our representative in San F>ancisco. in
which he mentioned a pleasant visit which he had with
you a few days ago.

I have thought of you many times during the past two
weeks, and I think I can well imagine the strenuous period
you have been passing through. As soon as I learned that
the sub-treasury had been destroyed and that the mint
was still standing, I realized that you would be the center
of an important situation, and I felt confident that you
would acquit yourself with credit under the circum-
stances.

— 363 —

Rccollcclioiis of <i Newspaperiiuiu

The first icmIIv iiilcllij^ihlc Jiccouiil of llic S;iii rV;incisco
sitiialioii which I read was your l( Icf^ram, sent lo Wash-
ington, and, upon rc'a(hnf» it, I rcahzcd more than ever
the vahie of the sort of (raining which a successful news-
paperman receives. I am sure that no other oMicial of the
government on the spot could have written so hicidly and
briefly, or liave expressed so mucli in a few words.

I sincerely ho])e tliaf you suflered no serious [xrsonal
losses in the confhi^rafion and that you will not overwork
yourself by trying to straighten things out and keep the
treasury business moving. It must be hard, I know, for
a person in your responsible position to take any more
time for rest than is absolutely necessary, but for many
weeks to come you will recpnre the use of all your energy
and it will be a great mistake to overdo things now.

With best wishes and sincere regard, 1 am,

Cordially yours, (Signed) F'. A. Vanderlip.

May 16. 1906.
Mr. F. A. Vanderlip, National City Bank, New York, N. Y.:

My Dear Mr. Vanderlip— Your kind and very compli-
mentary letter of May 2 came duly to hand. However, a
very "great stress of business" of unusual character has
prevented my acknowledging your kindness before. Your
letter was especially appreciated, as it seemed to express
something more than was laid down with simply ink and
paper.

While the situation imposed increased labor and greater
responsibilities, I assure you I enjoyed it, for there was
real pleasure in contributing to relief and to the work of
organizing and restoring financial conditions. The mint
building is a busy place, housing the "Bank of All Banks,"
the sub-treasury, the cashier's department for the relief
fund, office of the Selby company, and our own business^
As there were no eating or lodging places for a great
distance, I had to provide lodgings in the building for a
lot of my own men and start a restaurant for their sub-
sistence and the accommodation of many others in the
mint building. We fed over 100 people for a few days, but
now the number is considerably less.

The building had a close call from destruction. It was
on fire inside of the upper story and roof many times.
There is cpiite a section of the roof that will have to be
replaced. During the worst part of the fire around the
building, burning embers and red hot cinders rained

— 364 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

down upon us in perfect showers, and they would find
lodgment against every projection on the roof, and in one
place for twenty feet long they accumulated to the depth
of about two feet. This was about the time the building
was being scarred up as you see it in the picture. The
windows there were all burned out, and the boarding up
shown in the picture was done the day after the fire.
The hose streams we had on the inside of the building
and roof enabled us to prevent the fire getting any serious
foothold. I had a brave lot of fellows who stood up to
the fight while their flesh and clothes were scorched. I
did not expect to save the building. It was sufficiently
hot to make trouble for us on the south and west sides,
and as the buildings on the north side were larger, taller,
and nearer, with the wdnd against us, it appeared to me as
if no possible power could protect the building from
destruction, but the character of the structure and our
fire plant won the day. By the way, the latter was com-
pleted only about ten days before the fire.

I am pleased to say my personal loss did not amount to
anything worth mentioning. I live in Oakland, where the
damage w^as less than in San Francisco.

The condition of the mint building, which, outside of
the chimneys, has not a crack in it, and other first class
buildings, shows it is possible to build against damage
by earthquakes. A cheap, three-story building, a half
block from here on Fifth Street, was thrown completely
down.

California can not express its gratitude for the extraord-
inary showing of generosity on the part of the people of
New York and other parts of our country. We have been
placed under a debt we never can discharge.

I shall be pleased to be remembered to Mr. Clark.

Again thanking you for the kindly interest manifested,
and wdth full appreciation of the soundness of your
advice, I am. Yours truly,

(Signed) Frank A. Leach.

United States Senate.
Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment.

Washington, D. C, April 27, 1906.
Honorable F. A. Leach, Superintendent of the Mint, San
Francisco, Cat.:
My Dear Leach — I wish to express to you and to the
employees of the mint who worked with you the apprc-

— 365 —

lircollrctions of a Newspaperman

cinlioii of llic Sccrclar-y ol llic 'rrcjisiiry .iihI all the offi-
cials of llic ^ovcriiinciil and of llic ('aliloniia dclcf^ation
of llic f^rcal work |)crroiiiic(l by yon by which Ihc most
iinpoi'laiil slrucliirc in San h'rancisco was saved from
dcslrnction. Had it not been for the cfrorts of yourself
and the employees of flic mint, San Francisco would now
be in a desperate plii^hf financially, without ade(}uate
means for making money transfers, which is of such vital
necessity at the present time. I can assure you and all
those who risked tlieir lives in the great work that the
services performed are appreciated by the government,
by Congress, and by all people who have given thought
to the various needs of a stricken people. It is no more
than just that the government has determined to main-
tain the pay-roll of the mint and other public offices with-
out change, even should there not be work to fully employ
every one, and the delegation will use every effort to pro-
mote the interests of all those who have shown themselves
to be brave and faithful in time of stress.
I remain, Cordially yours,

(Signed) Geo. C. Perkins.

Treasury Department.
Office of the Director of the Mint.

Washington, April 23, 1906.
Dear Mr. Leach: — The Bureau of the Mint is living in
the light of your glory these days. We are all very proud
of the work done by yourself and helpers who saved the
mint wiiile fire swept by on all sides. It was a great
achievement.

The calamity to San Francisco is almost inconceivable
in its magnitude. I can not realize that the splendid busi-
ness section is absolutely obliterated. But while it means
hopeless ruin to thousands, there can be no doubt that
the city will rebuild and in a few years be greater than
ever. I am w'ondering if Oakland will not. however,
receive a permanent impetus from the transfer of so much
business to it temporarily. It has always seemed to me
that there was the natural place for the great city.
With personal regards, Very truly yours.

(Signed) Geo. E. Roberts,
Director of the Mint.
Frank A. Leach, Esq., Superintendent United States Mint,
San Francisco.

— 366 —

Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

Temporary Office 2129 Laguna St.
San Francisco Clearing House Association.

San Francisco, May 8, 1906.
Honorable F. A. Leach, Superintendent United States
Mint, San Francisco, Cat.:
Dear Sir — The following resolution, passed at a meet-
ing of the San Francisco Clearing House Association, May
7, 1906, I trust you will accept as an expression of our
high appreciation of your kindness to its members one
and all:

"Resolved, That the thanks of the San Francisco Clear-
ing House Association, and of the community, be tendered
to Honorable Frank A. Leach, Superintendent of the
United States mint at San Francisco, for the efficient and
courteous manner in which he is carrying out the spirit of
the Treasury Department policy, and for the desire he has
manifested to serve the city's financial interests to the
utmost." Very truly yours,

San Francisco Clearing House Association.

Homer S. King, President.

— 367 —

CIIAPTKIi XVI

OFFICIAL MM-: IN WASHINGTON

Appointed Direclor of the Mint — Interesting Incidents
Attending the Production of the New Gold (Coin-
age— Important Transfer of Gold Coin — How an Ex-
Senator Was Victimized — The Close of President
Roosevelt's Term of Office — Retirement from the Ser-
vice and Return to California.

In July, 1907, the year following the great fire, George E.
Roberts, Director of the Mint at Washington, resigned
from the position and the place thus made vacant was
tendered me. I accepted the appointment and thus
became a bureau chief in the Treasury Department. The
acceptance of the oflice necessitated my resignation of the
superintendency of the San Francisco mint. Having
entered upon the duties of Superintendent August 1,
1897, and resigned September 19, 1907, I had held the
office for a trifle over ten years, which was a longer ser-
vice by several years than ever before given by one man
to the superintendency. I was becoming tired of bearing
the very great responsibilities of the office and was think-
ing seriously of resigning when I received the offer of
being made chief of the mint bureau. As the duty of the
new position carried no financial responsibilities with it,
the appointment afforded the release from those I had
longed to shake off. When it became known that I was
to resign the San Francisco position, the San Francisco
bankers paid me a very great compliment in the shape of
a set of resolutions, especially thanking me for services
rendered the banking world after the fire, adopted by
their association. The resolutions were engrossed in mag-

— 368 —

ll^-l

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'"a ji

^.''n '.<

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ill

>. ,- j« y.

Official Life in Washington

niflcent and most costly form, and presented to me by
Homer S. King of the Bank of California, I. Steinhart
of the Anglo-California Bank, and Wellington Gregg
of the Crocker National Bank. In addition, the asso-
ciation presented me with a library of several hundred
volumes of standard works and a very costly watch, bear-
ing on the cover a neat engraving of the San Francisco
mint on one side and a monogram of my initials on the
other, with my name in full on the inside of the case,
coupled with a record of the gift and its source. In
acknowledging the testimonials I said that these gifts,
bearing such strong messages of good will, kindness, and
esteem, with such close connection with one of the greatest
tragedies in the world's history, would ever possess his-
torical interest, as well as be most highly cherished by me.

The officers and men of the mint, with whom I had
been so long associated, manifested their good feeling
toward me with kind words of regret that 1 was to leave
them, and pleasure that I had been promoted to a higher
office. A more formal testimonial was the presentation
of a fine oil portrait of myself which they caused to be
painted and which they hung in the mint building. I
received a number of letters and telegrams congratulat-
ing me on my promotion from friends and acquaintances,
messages that warmed the heart and brightened the world
from my point of vision. The unpleasant part of the
change was the necessity of having to make Washington
my place of residence, leaving behind all the friends of a
lifetime and those so dear to us by family ties. The
packing up of our belongings for the trip and preparing
the old home for use by others in our absence were accom-
panied by a feeling of sadness, a depression of spirits I
could not shake off, for the move meant the breaking up
of the old homestead and disruption of the family circle.

We arrived in Washington in time for me to assume my
new duties about the first of October. I was received

— 369 —

Hrcollrrlions of <t \rtvsj)<ij)crn\(Ui

most kindly .iiid welcomed in my olliciid capacity by
President Hooscvclt, Secretary Corlelyoii, and Triasurcr
Treat. Willi the Secretary of the 'Ireasiiry, Mr. Corlelyou,
I had enjoyed previous acquaintance, and I louiul sev-
eral other friends holding positions in the department,
so that I was able to assume the position of Director of the
Mint with the feeling that I was not allogctlier a stranger.
In fact, all the otlicers with wliom I came in contact, with-
out exception, treated me with the courtesy and spirit
of amity that was very gratifying and went a long way
in repressing feelings of strangeness and embarrassment.

Now I will say something about the position and duties
I had assumed. As Director I was the chief of the bureau
of the mint, wbich brought all the mints (then four) and
all the government assay offices (nine) under my super-
vision. In a general way the working parts of the bureau
embraced three divisions, namely, examining or auditing,
statistical, and laboratory. The requirements of the first
division brought every expenditure made in the mints
and assay of!ice to the bureau for audit, where not only
the accuracy, but authority and necessity had to be
passed upon, as well as to determine if purchases and
expenditures were made wdth proper observation of laws
and rules regarding prices paid. To illustrate the care
the government exercises in watching the expenditures
of congressional appropriations made by the Treasury
Department, I will mention that the Auditor of the Treas-
ury revises all these accounts after the audit of the bureau
of the mint. Then afterwards, the Comptroller of the
Treasury examines them in search of any irregularity
that might have been overlooked by tlie preceding exam-
ination. The investigations of this latter ofhcial more
particularly related to the legality of expenditures, as
simple errors seldom pass the other auditors.

The division of statistics had the work of gathering
the figures which showed the annual production of gold

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Official Life in Washington

and silver in the United States and in all other countries
of the world, so that at the close of each calendar year
an official statement may be given of such statistics. The
production reports made by the Director of the Mint of
the United States have for many years been accepted by
writers on economics, and by officials in all other coun-
tries, as standard authority. In this division, record of
the kind and quantity of money in use in the United
States is kept, and regular statements are made through
the Secretary of the Treasury, showing the total and its
relation in amount per capita to the population. Much
care is exercised in keeping the account, as the state-
ments of this record are also accepted throughout the
world as authority by economists and financial writers.
Here also is compiled quarterly the table of the value of
foreign coins in many of the United States, which table,
by act of Congress, is made the standard of value in all
custom house transactions and in the courts.

In the laboratory divisions, the principal work is to
examine the samples of the coinage as it is made at the
diff'erent mints, both as to weight and fineness; that is,
to find if the coins contain the proper quantity of copper
alloy wdth the gold or silver, within the limitations allowed
by law, and also if the proper weights are maintained.
That a prompt examination may be made of all coinage,
the regulations require from each mint samples of each
day's work to be sent to the Director for examination
and test. The coinage from which the samples arc taken
is not released for circulation until the examination has
determined the work to have been properly executed.
Incidents of imperfect coinage are seldom recorded; nev-
ertheless, the system of inspection is maintained as if it
were something of frequent or daily occurrence.

The Director of the Mint has responsibilities outside of
the routine mentioned, one of which is to see that the
coinage of the mint is of the particular denominations

— 37/ —

Uecollrclioiis of a Nrivspaprrnidii

r('([iiii'{<l ill llic needs ol' Iriule iiiid lin.iiiee, ;iii(l is
proniplly met in lime and (pmnlity. Ordinarily lliis obli-
gation is met without trouble or anxiety, but there arc
times when enlivened conditions ol trade exhaust the
surplus stock of some particular denomination or deiioiiii-
na lions of coins in the Treasury of the I'nited States, and
the ordinary working capacity of the mints is unable to
meet the requirements. This was the condition of things
when I assumed the duties of Director in the fall of 1907.
The extraordinary expansion of trade which ultimately
resulted in a financial panic required the full capacity of
the four mints working overtime to meet the demands
for silver coins. Never before in the history of our
country was so much coin of that character made by the
mints in the same space of time. Nothing like it could be
found in the records. When in October of that year the
panic disrupted business affairs, and factories were shut
down and employment contracted, the need for the extra
coinage was at an end and the silver and minor coinage
not required in trade and for the payment of wages began
to flow back into the Treasury of the United States until
a surplus of something like ^^30,000,000 had accumulated.
The record of the holdings by the Treasurer of this kind
of money acts as an accurate barometer of business con-
ditions in the United States. When trade and commerce
are expanding there is an increased employment of labor
and more transactions in the stores. For every new hand
employed and every additional transaction, there is a
draft upon the surplus of the Treasury', and a correspond-
ing increase of the stock of money in circulation. The
workingman's pocket, when he is employed, carries
money, and is empty when he is unemployed. The store-
keeper needs a greater amount of silver, nickels, and cop-
pers for change, when his volume of trade is enlarged.
When the number of the storekeeper's business transac-
tions falls off and trade becomes dull, that kind of money

— 372 —

Official Life in Washington

accumulates on his hands and he deposits the surplus in
his bank. The banks, not being able to use the surplus
of this kind of money, turn it into the Treasury of the
government and receive, in exchange, currency or gold
coin. Thus it is seen that with the increase or expansion
of trade the surplus or stock of small coin in the Treas-
ury is reduced by drafts upon it. The flow is outward,
and when a reverse condition of business takes place then
the flow is into the Treasury and the surplus is increased,
and the Director of the Mint has only to watch the daily
cash statements of the Treasurer, taking into considera-
tion the additions to stock made by the mint operators,
to be informed as to the status of business conditions in
the country as a whole, and to be advised as to the needs
in coinage operations.

Another very iinportant matter was in hand in the
bureau when I arrived at Washington, which was soon to
cause me some anxiety, and that was the perfection of
President Roosevelt's scheme for new designs for all the
gold coins of our country. There were a number of prom-
inent people in the East, especially in New York and Bos-
ton, who some time before began an agitation for an
improvement in appearance of all our coinage. The
President quickly became the leading spirit of the move-
ment. The prevalent idea in this undertaking was that
the design and execution of our coinage were inferior and
inartistic when compared with those of ancient Greece;
and as the coins used by a nation are one of the most
enduring records of the art and mechanical skill of its
age, our government should make an issue of coinage that
would leave to future generations and ages something
that would more truthfully and correctly reflect the artis-
tic taste and mechanical ability of our day than the coin-
age then in use, unchanged for so many years. The
admiration for the ancient Greek coins unwittingly influ-
enced those gentlemen to suggestions that were imitative

— 373 —

lircollcclioiis of <t N ('iosp<iprrii\(iii

i-;illi(i" lli;iii ()ii.L|iiial. I'Ik y wjiiilcd (he dcsif^iis for the
I)r<)j)().s(<l coiiKif'c lo l)c hroiiijlil oiil in liif^Ii relief, or with
inedallic cllecl, like llic designs (jii llic ancient coins. The
commercial use and requirements seemed to have been
lost sight of in the enthusiasm of piochiciii^ a lii^hly
artistic coin; hut in all prohahilily none of liie leading
spirits in the movement was familiar with the use of
metallic money, and did not understand that the proposed
high relief would make the face of the coins so uneven
that the pieces would not "stack," which was a condition
fatal to the practicability of the idea.

It was early in the year 1905 that President Roosevelt
authorized the Director of the Mint to conclude a con-
tract with the famous sculptor, Saint-Gaudcns, to supply
designs in high relief for the $20 and $10 gold coins. This
was accomplished in July, but no designs were finally
perfected that met the approval of the President until
the early part of 1907. The first model was a design for
the double eagle, or $20 piece. Dies from the model
were made at the Philadelphia mint. On trial, the dies
gave such a high relief to the figures on the design that
all efforts to produce a perfect or satisfactory coin on
the regular coining presses were ineffectual. A medal
press was then resorted to, that the beauty of the design
might be studied and be preserved in the shape of a coin,
but even by this process it required about twelve blows
or impressions in the press for each piece, wdth an anneal-
ing process between each stroke of the process. The
annealing process consists of heating the coin to a cherry-
red heat and cooling it in a diluted solution of acid. This
process eliminates the copper alloy on the surface of the
coin and leaves the piece covered with a thin film of pure
gold. As a work of art the pieces were beautiful, but had
more the appearance of medals than coins for daily use.
Nineteen pieces only from this model were struck on the

— 3^^ —

Official Life in Washington

medal press, and these were subsequently given to mint
and Washington ofiicials connected with the work.

There were some who thought that by reducing the
diameter of the piece to about the size of a "checker,"
with a corresponding increase in thickness, the much
desired high relief might be struck on the ordinary coin
press; accordingly dies were made and several pieces
struck, when it was discovered that the coinage act,
passed in 1890, prohibited the change of the diameter
of any coin. Thirteen pieces were struck from this small
die for the thick or checker pieces, but with the exception
of two coins placed in the cabinet or collection of coins
at the Philadelphia mint, all of these pieces were melted
and destroyed on account of the improper or illegal
dimensions.

Saint-Gaudens then attempted to facilitate the work
of coinage by supplying another or second set of models
with the relief reduced to some extent, but satisfactory
results were not obtained on the regular coinage presses.
He then made a third model with still further and
greater reduction of the high relief. The failure gave
rise to considerable friction between the artist and
the mint authorities. The President had become impa-
tient and began to think that the mint officials were not
showing a zeal in the work that promised results. It was
at this stage of the undertaking that I came into the
olTice of Director. Before I had become familiar with my
surroundings the President sent for me. In the interview
that followed he told me what he wanted, and what the
failures and his disappointments had been, and proceeded
to advise me as to what I should do to accomplish the
purpose determined upon in the way of the new coinage.
In this talk he suggested some details of action of a dras-
tic character for my guidance, which he was positive were
necessary to be adopted before success could be had. All
this was delivered in his usual vigorous way, emphasiz-

— 375 —

liccollcclioiis of (I i\'rn>si)(i{)f'riii(iii

ing many jjoiiils by Iianmu rin^ on the desk with his fist.
This was my lirsl iiilcrvicw wilh the l^rtsidcnl, and it was
somewhat cmharrassinf^ for me to oppose his views, but I
fell Ihal il was essential to my suceess that I slionid ijc
untrammelled by any interlerence in the plans that I
should adopt to secure the production of the new coinage.
I determined then and there that if I could not have free
rein in the matter I would not attempt the work. In my
reply to the President I finally made the wisdom of my
position clear to him. 1 explained to him how I had not
yet had time to look into the matter and locate the causes
of failure, consequently could not say what was necessary
to correct them. At any rate, I would have to insist that
these were matters of details that should be left to my
judgment.

"All you want, Mr. President," I said, "is the production
of the coin with the new design, is it not?"

"Yes," said he.

"Well, that I promise you."

He said he guessed I was right in my attitude in the
matter, but I think he was not very confident of my get-
ting results, for when a few days later I laid upon his
desk a sample of beautifully executed double eagles of the
Saint-Gaudens design, he w^as most enthusiastic in his
expressions of pleasure and satisfaction. I certainly
believed him when he declared he was "delighted." He
warmly congratulated me on my success, and was most
complimentary in his comments.

"Now," said he, "I want enough of these coins within
thirty days to make a distribution throughout the coun-
try, that the people may see what they are like." I replied
that we would be able to meet with his desire, although 1
explained that this issue would have to be struck on medal
presses from the second design model, but that in a few
\veeks later we would have dies completed from model
No. 3 with lower relief, so that the coins, when made,

— 376 —

Official Life in Washington

would meet the requirements of the bankers and business
men in "stacking," etc., and these could be struck on the
regular coin presses in the usual way. The pleasure of
the President was manifested in the heartiness of his
thanks. I had every medal press in the Philadelphia mint
put into operation on these coins with an extra force of
workmen, so that the presses were run night and day.
The officers of the mint entered into the spirit of the
work cut out for them, putting a zest into the operations
which assured me that the issue of the new double eagles,
so greatly desired by the President, would be made on
time. In fact, we delivered to the Treasurer of the United
States 12,153 double eagles, representing $243,060, which
was considerably more than asked of us, several days
ahead of time. I came in for more compliments from
the President. In his enthusiastic way he introduced me
to several of his Cabinet officers who were present in his
office, as a "man who got results." The coins of this issue,
when made available to the public, were much sought
after by people who wanted to keep them as souvenirs
or as additions to numismatic collections. Contrary to
expectations, a premium was demanded by dealers soon
after the distribution began, and by the time it was ended
the premium had increased to about an average of fifteen
dollars on a piece. The newspapers gave much space to
criticism, both by their own editors and from correspond-
ents. Opinions as to the merits of the new coin were
fairly well divided. The artistic appearance of the coin
was generally recognized, but it could scarcely claim
a popular reception. The design of the eagle on the
reverse side of the coin was the object of much adverse
comment. Saint-Gaudens did not use any originality in
this design of the eagle, but simply copied that used on
the penny coined in 1857, following the fcalure of the
bird flying with its talons extended backward under the
tail feathers, instead of being drawn up under the breast,

— 377 —

lircolh'ction.s of <t Xcn'spdprriiKiii

tlic position iiiosl ^ciicinlly ohsciNcd in hiids of prey
wluM) living ahoiil.

While (lisfiissiii^ willi llic Picsidi nl tin ciilicisin hy
the |)iil)lic, I sj)okc ol" the |)()siti()ii ol the l.iloiis ;is being
incorreel. i'liis tlie I^resident promptly denied, and said
thai if I would visit the hirge aviary at Koek ('reek Park
I would find the eagles flying about just as n presented
by the Saint-Gaudens design. I did not know then that
the President was such a close observer ol' things in
nature, and, having doubts as to the accuracy of his
opinion, I went to the aviary as he had suggested. 1 did
not have to wait to be convinced of the correctness of" the
President's assertion, for the very first flight of an eagle
across the aviary showed the talons extended out behind,
in the manner of a crane or gull.

The greatest extent of unpleasant criticism over the new
issue was aroused by the discovery that the motto, "In
God we trust," had been omitted from it. The President's
mail, as well as that of the Secretary of the Treasury', w as
flooded with letters, some mild and many bitter, in protest
against the removal of the motto. So loud became this
protest that the President felt called upon to defend the
omission, in a statement to the press, wherein he took the
position that it was a profane use of the name of God,
and the motto had been very properly omitted. He could
have made an explanation that would have silenced all
criticism and relieved himself of the responsibility for
the omission if he had referred his critics to coinage acts
of the government.

The statutes of the United States supply the only words
and mottoes that shall appear on the various coins au-
thorized by the act of Congress. For many years the
motto, "In God we trust," was included with other word
requirements by law. In 1890 the coinage act was
changed in several particulars, and when the re-enact-
ment was completed the motto in question, whether by
— 37S —

Official Life in Washington

design or accident, had been omitted. So when Saint-
Gaudens was given the words and figures that must
appear on the coins, the motto was not inchided. When
this was understood an appeal was made to Congress,
and that body quickly authorized the restoration of the
words, "In God we trust."

Wliile the people were talking about the new coins, the
mint officials were busy working on the dies from model
number three, and their efforts to produce them on the
ordinary coining presses were finally crowned with suc-
cess, and by the latter part of December the mint presses
were striking off new double eagles at the rate of about
$1,000,000 daily. Excepting the addition of the motto,
the design is the same as that used in the coining of
$20 pieces at all the mints of the government ever since.

About the same experience was encountered in pro-
ducing the $10 pieces, or eagles. Three models of the new
design were made by Saint-Gaudens. Five hundred
trial pieces were struck from the first model, and
34,100 pieces were struck from the second model, but
all of this lot were subsequently remelted except forty-
two coins, which, with those of the first lot, were given to
museums of art and officials and others connected with
the work. Dies from the third model were found to
work satisfactorily in the ordinary coining presses.

The new $10 pieces came in for more severe and
adverse criticism than the double eagle received. First,
for the omission of the motto; next, that the emblem of
the eagle was a monstrosity; third, an accusation that the
artist had posed his Irish servant girl to secure his design
of the Indian maiden's head appearing on the obverse
side of the coin. The omission of the motto has been
explained. The criticism of the eagle was unjust, and
showed unfamiliarity with bird life on the part of the
critics. This eagle was copied from one of Audubon's
famous drawings. The majority of the people who

— 379 —

Hccolli'clioiis of (I Ncinsfidpf'niKir}

Iuni(ii(-(I coin j)i()l);il)ly liad never seen a live eaf^le, and
the only idea lliey had (»! what the kin^ of birds looked
like was formed from lh( travesty on tlie bird that has
appeared on the coins of llic eouiilry ever since the mints
were established. The President was ri^hl in his judg-
ment; if an emblem of freedom was to be used on the
coins, good taste demanded tiic most accurate representa-
tion of it, and artists say the vSaint-Ciaudens design was a
truthful copy from nature. The third feature of complaint
was groundless. No Irish servant girl, or any other girl,
had posed for Saint-Gaudens for the head design of
the Indian maiden. Saint-Gaudens copied the design
from the experimental penny of 1857, the same coin from
which he obtained the idea of the flying eagle used on the
new double eagle. It is a most excellent copy, as any
one will find who will take the trouble to compare the
two coins, the old cent of 1857, and the new YlO piece.
The designs and appearance of the new coin, however,
were not beyond criticism. In my judgment the artist
unduly lengthened the legs of the eagle to better center
the design on the piece. It was but a trifle, but it was
enough to cause some critics to make fun of the bird.
The more serious fault was on the obverse side. When
it was decided to adopt an Indian head design an accurate
representation of a real Indian, head dress, and orna-
ments, should have been selected for the purpose, for the
same reason manifested in the selection of the emblem
of the eagle. Such designs should not be ideal or imag-
inary. If worth using, they should be faithful to the
subject represented. The original design of the Indian
maiden copied by Mr. Saint-Gaudens was made more
than fifty years before, evidently by some one who had
a very imperfect conception of what a real Indian looked
like. Apparently the original artist's opportunity for the
knowledge had not extended beyond the old pictures of
"Columbus Discovering America."
— 380 —

Ofjicial Life in Washington

Originally it was the intention to give the -$5 and
$2.50 pieces the same design as that used on the double
eagle or $20 piece, but before final action to that end was
taken President Roosevelt invited me to lunch with him
at the White House. His purpose was to have me meet
Doctor William Sturgis Bigelow of Boston, a lover of art
and friend of the President, who was showing great
interest in the undertaking for improving the appearance
of American coins, and who had a new design for the
smaller gold coins. It was his idea that the commercial
needs of the country required coins that would "stack"
evenly, and that the preservation of as much as possible
of the flat plane of the piece was desirable, A coin, there-
fore, with the lines of the design, figures, and letters
depressed or incused, instead of being raised or in relief,
would meet the wishes of the bankers and business men,
and at the same time introduce a novelty in coinage that
was artistic as well as adaptable to the needs of business.
The President adhered to the idea that the high relief
afforded greater possibilities of artistic results, and
referred to the beauties of the ancient gold coins. Unques-
tionably he was correct in this opinion, but I called his
attention to the fact that he and the other promoters of
the new coinage were trying to do more than the ancient
Greek artists and coiners had found possible, and that
the Greeks had only been able to produce a high relief on
one side of their coins, while we were endeavoring to
give a high relief on both sides. We had in a way suc-
ceeded, for by the use of a medal press we had outdone
the Greeks. But the uncompromising demands of trade
would not tolerate even the one-sided coins of ancient
Greece. The President expressed surprise at my state-
ment, and at once sent a messenger to his room for a
beautiful example of Grecian work in the shape of a gold
coin of the days of Alexander the Great. Of course, he
found one side quite flat, while the other was in high
relief. — 381 —

liccollt'clions of (I X('u>s[)(ip('rni(iii

I on joyed the luncheon. II \v;i.s ;is simple and devoid of
ceremony as a lunch woiiiil he in the iiome ol" any well-
to-do family. Mrs. Hoosevell, a lady friend, and a fc-deral
jud^e, an old-lime fiieiid of the President, were also at
the lahle. II so happened that it was the anniversary day
of April, 18(5"), of the surrender of the judf^e as a Con-
federate army ofFiccr in the closing days of the Civil War.
As might he imagined, it put the judge in a reminiscent
mood. Me was an excellent talker and interested us all.
One of his remarks was that no one could tell what would
happen in life. "The day I surrendered as a Confederate
soldier I lillle expected to stretch my legs under a dining
table in the White House, as a guest of the President.
Why, I remember I was so dejected on that occasion that
an aged friend of mine said to me, 'You think you and
the country are going to hell on a toboggan, but that is all
wrong.' So I found out."

It was after the lunch and we had excused ourselves
from the others that the question as to the new design for
the half and quarter eagles took place. The discussion
ended by the President authorizing Doctor Bigelow and
me to go ahead and produce some trial pieces after the
suggestions of the doctor. Bcla L. Pratt, an artist of
high repute in Boston, was selected to make the models
for the designs, which were to be a faithful copy of an
Indian head and the eagle with shortened legs. The
models and dies were not finished until some time in
September. When the trial pieces were produced I was
pleased with their appearance, for the nationality was
so plainly stamped on the coin that it needed no lettering
to tell anybody in any part of the world that it had been
issued by the United States of America. It pleased the
President, and he at once gave the official approval neces-
sary for the adoption of the design. Soon after, the new
coins were minted and placed within the reach of the pub-
lic. Considerable criticism followed the appearance of the

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Official Life in Washington

new design. The depressed or incused idea of portraying
the figures, device, etc., was unfavorably received, while
the faithfulness of the designs to the objects represented,
as artistic work, was very generally commended. Con-
firming the truth of the old saying, "there is nothing new
in the world," we found, in looking over some authorities
on ancient coinage, that almost the very first attempt in
making coins was by depressing or incusing the designs.
This issue finished the work of changing the designs of
the gold coins.

Without the authority of Congress, the coinage laws of
our country permit the change of designs on any denomi.-
nation of our coins only once in twenty-five years. For
this reason, the only other denominations that could
undergo a change of designs were the nickels and copper
cent pieces.

Congress passed an act early in the year of 1908 restor-
ing the motto, "In God We Trust," so that all coins made
thereafter bore these words.

In 1905, when President Roosevelt conceived the idea
of changing the design of the several coins of our country,
the cent was one of the denominations selected for altera-
tion and improvement, and the work of making the new
design was turned over to Saint-Gaudens at the time
he was given the contract for changing the designs of
the gold coins. His first work, after completing the de-
sign for the double eagle, was making the models for
the cent. He made a model of a female head, adorned
with an Indian feather head dress, much the same in
general appearance as the head in use on the coin at
that time. When this model was presented to the Presi-
dent for his consideration, he decided to adopt it as
the obverse side for the new $10 gold piece. This changed
the original plan of having the eagle, half eagle, and
quarter eagle made with the same design as that adopted
for the double eage; and as the famous artist was

— 3S3 —

RecoUcclions of (i Newspaperman

feeble in lie;illli, all llic lime lie was ai)i»' lo devote to
the woi-k ol" eliaii^in^ (lie designs was ^iveii to perlceting
the models lor both the <l<)uble ea^le and ea^le for |)racti-
cal mint operations, and the hist artistie work of the
great man was to beautify the American coins. He linally
passed away without making a new design for the cent
piece.

Victor D. Brenner of New York, one of the most skillful
medalists of this country, was presented to the President
with the request that he be given the commission to
complete the work the President had in mind of changing
the design of the cent piece. As an outcome of this visit,
Mr. Brenner was requested by the President to consult
with me in the matter. We had several interviews, and
upon conclusion I instructed him, with the approval of
Secretary Cortelyou, to prepare a model for the obverse
side, bearing a portrait of Lincoln. He was also advised
as to the law that should be followed in making the
design for the reverse side. In due course of time, Mr.
Brenner presented the models in accordance with these
instructions, wdiich met with the hearty approval of Presi-
dent Roosevelt and Secretary Cortelyou, and were for-
mally adopted as the design for the new cent.

The fact that this change had been decided upon was
given considerable publicity in the newspapers at the
time, creating a very great interest in the public mind,
and the appearance of the new coin was anxiously
awaited. The Treasury Department was for a time
almost overwhelmed with applications for a supply of
the new issue, coming from every part of the United
States, but the new coppers were not given to the public
until the early part of 1909.

There was some little criticism emanating from those
who feared that the use of the head of the cx-President
might establish a precedent which would lead ultimately
to the adoption of the use of the portraits of existing

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Official Life in Washington

executives on our coins, after the manner of monarchial
governments. In this connection it may be of interest
to cite the fact that the legislative act establishing the
first mint of the United States and providing for a coin-
age system originated in the Senate. When the bill was
sent to the House it contained the provision that the
head or portrait of the President should appear on all
coins executed during the term of the official, with the
nuinerical order of the presidency. When this act was
considered in the House no alteration of the bill was
made except to strike out this clause and substitute the
following: "An impression emblematic of liberty, and
an inscription of the word 'liberty' and the year of the
coinage." What was intended in the law by the vague
expression of "An impression emblematic of liberty" has
been generally interpreted through all these years by the
use of a female head, sometiines adorned with the cap
of Liberty, and at other times with an Indian head dress,
but more frequently without any ornamentation other
than a band above the brow holding the hair, bearing
the word, "Liberty." Some years ago this matter was
made the subject of debate in the Senate, when Senator
Morrill of Vermont said :

The emblem of Liberty, like that of many other virtues,
has been said to be always represented in petticoats. The
Britannia of Great Britain appears in form like a near
relation to the Liberty, or the Minerva, often found on
old Greek and Roman coins, and in the days of Charles
II, the Duchess of Richmond served as a model to the
engraver; but, more recently, Victoria, by the distin-
guished medalist Wyon, has been stamped with great
excellence upon British coins, and she, like Queen Anne,
seems to have occasionally insisted upon decent drapery
about the bust.

Our sitting emblem of Liberty on the fractional silver
looks very like a descendant of our grandmother Britan-
nia by Clark Mills. Whether she wears long hair or a
widow's cap may not be quite clear, and there is no end
of crinoline, while the obtruding whalebones, in has relief

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Hvcollcciions of a Newspaperman

comprcssiiif^ llic waist, painfully disclose ovciworn cor-
sets. Hut, as our hi^licsl cirorl and best, on the copper
cent and on the one-dollar and tlireodollar gold coins,
the head of our enihleni appears in the baubles of an
Indian princess, doubtless an ideal Pocahontas — "that
female bully of the town" — with the head accordingly
stuck around with feathers, and labeled on the tiara,
"Liberty." Its circulation in the Indian territory, I
regret to say, has not been commensurate to the witchery
of the bait. England strangely omits to stamp on her
figure of the lion, "This is a lion"; but our emblem, safe
from all misconception, is always plainly and veraciously
branded across the forehead, "Liberty."

The use of the liberty cap, which appears on some of
the earliest coins of our country, was the subject of much
discussion as to its appropriateness at periods from 1793,
when it was first used, up to some time in the '30s, when
it was discarded. Its first use was on the cent pieces
of 1794, 1795, and a part of the year 1796, where it appears
on the coin as if suspended in the air over the head of a
female figure with flowing hair. It was not intended
that this cap should appear as suspended in the air, but
as being borne on a wand leaning on the shoulder of the
figure and projecting backward. It \vas contended that
the liberty cap, or pileus, was in itself an emblem of
liberty and should never be placed on the head of the
figure; and that the emblem in proper relation to a full-
length figure of Liberty should be borne on a wand or
staff sustained in her hand and was out of place as an
adornment or head dress.

During the time that I filled the office of Director of
the Mint nothing was done in the way of preparing a
new design for the nickels or five-cent pieces. I had con-
ceived some designs which I thought if adopted for the
silver coins would greatly improve their appearance. It
was my intention to have some sample coins made, using
the head of Washington, copied from the famous Stuart
portrait, for the obverse side, and an eagle in natural

— SS6 —

Official Life in Washington

position, standing on the American shield with wings
partly spread, making a pose suggestive of courage, free-
dom, and action. It was my intention to submit the sam-
ples to the President and if they met with his approval
it was then the further purpose to lay them before Con-
gress, with the hope of securing action that would have
permitted the device to take the place of the meaningless
designs now used to designate the different silver coins
of our country. Some work was done on the proposed
models at the Philadelphia mint, but as I had retired
from the service before the models were completed, and
as Roosevelt had stepped out of office that Taft might
take up the responsibilities of the presidency, there was
no one in official position interested in the subject suffi-
ciently to complete the work or carry out the suggestion.

IMPORTANT TRANSPORTATION OF COIN

When I left the San Francisco mint there was stored
there in the several vaults of the institution the immense
sum of two hundred and seventy millions of dollars in
gold coin and sixty-one millions of dollars in silver
coin, or over three hundred millions of dollars alto-
gether. The gold had been accumulating there for six or
seven years or more, after the adoption of the plan of
paying people who sold their gold to the mint with
checks drawn on the New York sub-treasury. The mint
was not well equipped with vaults, as it had not been con-
templated that it would ever become one of the storage
places for Uncle Sam's surplus cash. Consequently the
capacity of the vaults for storage purposes was limited,
besides which the vaults were not substantial enough for
the purpose and did not give that security demanded for
government funds. The possibility that some bold and
desperate men would attempt to secure some of this
gold, either by tunnelling under the building or rushing
the place during working hours, was always a source of

— 387--

Rerollrclioiis of (i XriDspaprr/iuiii

aiixioly to me. Ivspecially was this so alter overhearing
in a theater one eveninf» a eoiiph' ol" fellows who sat to
the rear of me discussing the matter and expressing the
opinion that a great theft in some such manner could be
successfully carried out. Besides, there was another
strong reason for its removal. In case of war, hiding so
handy and easy of access, the vast sum might fall into
the hands of an enemy as a result of some brief or
temporary advantage.

At the new Denver mint there had been constructed
a fine large and strong vault with the most modern
devices for security. It was located far inland from any
seacoast, consequently any treasure stored there was com-
paratively secure from capture by foreign invaders.
Here, then, was the place to which the gold and silver
at the San Francisco mint should be transferred; but in
its transfer it would be subject to dangers of loss by
theft in the handling in a petty way and robbery on a
large scale by train robbers. I laid the matter before the
Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Cortelyou. He asked me
to make a statement of the facts so that the subject could
be presented to the President, as he considered it of
great importance and something that should have imme-
diate attention. A decision in accordance with my views
and recommendations was quickly reached, but we were
confronted with the fact that there was no money with
which to defray the expense of the transfer. There was
nothing to do but to appeal to Congress for the money,
with the hope that the appropriation might be made
without undue publicity of its precise purpose. It was
our intention to make the transfer, if possible, without
knowledge of the fact being made public while the coin
was being transferred, and in this way reduce to the
minimum the danger of loss of money and conflict with
robbers. The Secretary sent for the chairman of the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House, Mr. Tawney,
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Official Life in Washington

and explained the situation and asked him to secure the
appropriation of the sum I had asked for, $300,000. Mr.
Tawney handled the matter very cleverly, for none of the
facts stated to him ever became public, and no newspaper
mention of the appropriation appeared. The sum men-
tioned was quickly made available, and as soon as pos-
sible I was on the way to San Francisco with full authority
to make arrangements for the transfer of the largest sum
of metallic money ever made. It was quite a matter to
arrange the details for moving several carloads of gold,
but to arrange for the transfer without publication of
such an extraordinary event was quite another matter
and caused many anxieties. Arrangements with the
express company had to be made, and the United States
Marshal had to be authorized to employ thirty guards.
Then there were the workmen, handling, packing, and
storing, employed at both ends of the route, to add to
the sources through which knowledge of the transfers
might be made public.

Finally the bargain with Wells Fargo & Co. was com-
pleted and all other details were finished, and I was able
to start the first shipment of gold to Denver on August 15,
1908. Thereafter two shipments of $5,000,000 each per
week were made. The money was placed in horse-cars
and made a part of the regular express trains. As horse-
cars were common in express trains, they did not attract
any more attention when filled with millions of dollars in
gold coin than when occupied by fancy race horses. Each
shipment was accompanied by fifteen deputy United States
marshals in citizens' clothes. These were all tried and
trusted men, selected with the greatest care by Captain
Seymour, formerly Chief of Detectives in San Francisco.

At the San Francisco mint a force was organized to
handle the gold. These men were all skilled in that
kind of work and were exceedingly trustworthy. The
plan of operation was to take the gold out of the vault

— 389 —

lievoUeclioiis of a S rwspaperman

and weigh it, which was the usual manner of delerniining
the vahie of gold. It was stored in tiic mint in canvas
sacks holding '$r)0()0 each. It was weighed in the sacks,
one of which was occasionally opened to show that its
contents were really what they were supposed to he. Then
the sacks were packed in strong pine hoxes, bound with
iron bands, $40,000 to each box, weighing about 1 10
pounds. The lids of the boxes were screwed on and then
the boxes were sealed with the seal of the United States
by a specially detailed oflicial.

It took one expert weigher and two tally clerks to tally
the gold out of the storage vault into the one where the
work was done, and two more to keep track of the bags
and boxes. There was also a force of laboring men to
move the money from vault to vault.

It was figured that by moving two shipments each week
there would be only $10,000,000 on the road at any one
time. As one shipment reached Denver the next one
was just leaving San Francisco. The frequent handling
of silver for the Philippine coinage made people familiar
with such operations at the mint, and when the express
company's wagons backed up twice a week and loaded
up ten tons of gold for each shipment but little attention
by outsiders was paid to it. Three trucks handled
$5,000,000 without any trouble, and there was only the
usual complement of two guards to each wagon or truck.
It is possible that even they did not know what a fortune
they handled at every trip.

The shipments began August 15. When December
came they were going forward with great regularity twice
a week. Then it was found that, by increasing the ship-
ments to $7,500,000 each time, the work could be com-
pleted before the new year, so this was done and the
shipments ended on December 19.

Not a dollar was lost, and there was never any sign
or rumor of trouble, and not a word appeared in the

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Official Life in Washington

newspapers of San Francisco or Denver giving publicity
to the shipments. When the transfer was completed so
successfully it added much to the pleasure of reporting
the accomplishment to Secretary Cortelyou, and earned
from him a very handsome compliment.

AN EX-SENATOR SWINDLED

The office of the Director of Mint was a bureau of
information on matters of coinage, past and future,
domestic and foreign, as well as in statistics pertaining
to productions of precious metals at home and elsewhere.
This fact brought many distinguished people to the mint
bureau, and in this way I made the acquaintance of a
number of the most active Senators and Congressmen
of those years, and some prominent writers on economic
subjects. I enjoyed this privilege for the opportunity it
gave to study the personalities and the character of men
of whom all that I had heretofore known were the impres-
sions gained by reading of their activities in public life
as presented in newspapers and magazines. One thing
that I noticed in sizing up these men from my own obser-
vations, and comparing the conclusions with impressions
conveyed by the press, was the universal custom of the
latter to harp upon and magnify individual peculiarities,
making such people in some instances better known to the
public by a peculiar trait in habit or appearance than
they would otherwise be.

An occasional visitor to my office was an ex-Scnator
from one of the Pacific Coast states. He was always
welcomed, as he was a good talker and gave me many
interesting details of stirring political events of the recon-
struction work after the close of the Civil War. Finally
his visits developed a bold swindle, in which he and two
other prominent professional men of Washington were
the victims. The Senator came into my office one morn-
ing and placed in my hands a lump of gold worth about

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Recollections of a !^rwsj)(ij)cnu(in

.$50, re(jiu'sting nic to have it iissayed loi- liiin. He came
back flic next inoriiiii^, when I reported the value and
lineiiess of the liimj). After asking me if 1 was certain
of the findings and being told there could be no mistake
about it, he went away. A week or so later he came
back with a larger lump of gold, which he again asked
to have assayed, saying that the importance of having a
reliable assay was the reason for bringing it to the mint
bureau for determination of its value. The next day
I was able to report to the Senator that the value of the
gold was practically -$1500. In response to his request
to know how to sell the gold to the government, I gave
him directions how to send the metal to the Philadelphia
mint and how he would receive the value in money in
return. It was something like ten days later when, early
one morning, the Senator came into the oflice laboring
under a state of excitement he could not hide. He asked
me to close the doors of the office so that we could have
the utmost privacy. Then he declared that he was almost
sure that the lump of bullion which he had sold to the
Philadelphia mint was not gold and only something in
imitation, and he wanted to refund the money he had
received before the mint authorities discovered the fraud
and caused his arrest. Upon making this declaration he
placed a roll of bills on my desk. I assured him that he
was certainly mistaken in his opinion of the bullion;
for, laying aside our assays, the treatment of deposits at
the mints was such as to make it impossible for any one
to impose counterfeit bullion on the gold-buying agents
of the government. "Now," I said, "come, tell me what
has happened." He then went on to relate how a fine-
looking man, educated in chemistry and metallurgv%
introduced himself some eight or ten weeks before, and,
after reading a magazine article relating the wonderful
feat of Sir William Ramsay, the famous English chemist,
in transmuting a small amount of metallic copper into

— S92 —

Official Life in Washington

lithium, said what was claimed by Ramsay was not only
true, but that he, the stranger, was able to do even more,
as he could change silver into gold, and offered to dem-
onstrate the truth of his claim. He was so plausible that
the Senator asked to see a demonstration. At the man's
house he found a lot of chemical and metallurgical
devices arrayed in an impressive manner around the
place. The stranger, after allowing the Senator to inspect
them, placed a couple of silver dollars in a small cell
or tank containing some kind of liquid, then for an hour
or so he entertained the Senator in conversation to pass
the time necessary for the solution to play its part in the
transmutation of the silver dollars into gold. Finally the
alchemist drew off the solution, and in the bottom of the
cell was remaining some finely divided or powdery stuff,
brown in color. This was declared to be the gold resulting
from the change. It was carefully gathered, dried, and
melted, becoming the $50 lump of gold which he had
shown on the occasion of his first visit to my office on this
business. The Senator admitted to me that the demon-
stration surprised him as well as later convinced him that
there were merits in the stranger's claim when I reported
to him that the lump was real gold. The stranger then
offered to make a demonstration on a larger scale if the
Senator would supply the silver. To the proposition the
Senator agreed, and supplied seventy-five dollar pieces
for the purpose. The operation or transmutation occupied
the best part of a day and resulted in the larger lump of
what is, in mint terms, called a "king," which the Senator
sold to the Philadelphia mint for $1500. Now all doubt
as to the stranger's ability to transmute silver into gold
was removed. The Senator became excited in contem-
plating the effect of the discovery in the financial world
and on civilization throughout the world, so he sought
a couple of near friends, a physician and an attorney,
feeling that he needed the advantage of support and

— 393 —

Recollections of a Newspaperman

coiisullation in a mailer ol sucli tremendous import.
Now the aleliemisl was desirous ol operating on a still
larger scale if his associates would supply about 2500
silver dollars. The oiler was accepted. The three
watched the proceedings with interest and saw their sil-
ver go into a tank lllhd with solution. This was on a
Friday. The lank was locked and the keys given to the
Senator, and accepted by him with a confidence of com-
manding the security of the precious metal in the tank
inconsistent in a "man of the world" and in a person who
was familiar with all kinds of confidence games and
tricks of sharpers. The alchemist said that the process of
changing so large an amount of silver into gold could not
be completed until the following Monday. In the mean-
time, as he was out of a supply of certain chemicals that
could only be obtained in New York, he would make a
trip to that city and return on Monday and complete
the operation. Up to Sunday the trio had looked upon
the transaction with every expectation of receiving nearly
$50,000 in gold for their $2500 in silver. However, on
that afternoon they received a telegram from the alchem-
ist, saying that he would not be able to return to Wash-
ington as soon as he had expected and warning his part-
ners not to unlock the tank or tamper with the solution,
as such an act would not only interrupt the process of
transmutation, but cause a loss of the silver in solution.
They began to fear that they had been victimized, and
therefore immediately proceeded to the laboratory and
unlocked and examined the tanks, which they found to
contain nothing more or less than water from the Poto-
mac River. Then it was that the Senator had visions of
having swindled the Philadelphia mint and having
incurred the wrath of the government, which prompted
the early visit to my office on the following Monday morn-
ing. The trio quietly pocketed their losses and thanked
their good luck that the sharper did not propose a

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Official Life in Washington

"transmutation" affecting their pockets on a larger scale.
Their only fear was publicity of having been "taken in"
on such a simple scheme.

During my connection with the Treasury Department
in the two years at Washington I was occasionally called
upon to act in matters other than those belonging to the
mint bureau. In the fall of 1908 the Secretary of the
Treasuiy, Mr. Cortelyou, and his three assistants left
Washington to go to their former residences to cast their
votes for Presidential Electors, and President Roosevelt
appointed me acting Secretary of the Treasury for the
several days of their absence. I treasure the commission
issued to me by the President for this service as an expres-
sion of his good will and the confidence with which he
regarded me as a member of his political family. Nothing
occurred during the few days of my administration out-
side of routine matters, so I am unable to recount any
incident giving special importance to the temporary ele-
vation of my duties. The newspapers spoke kindly of the
appointment, but referred to it as being unusual, if not
unprecedented.

When the matter of selecting the site for the new sub-
treasury building in San Francisco came up for final
decision. Secretary Cortelyou submitted all the formal
offers of sites, giving price and locations to me, with a
request for my opinion as to which was the most desir-
able. This seemed to be a small matter at first, but
months passed before I was finally through with it. The
work necessitated a trip to San Francisco and much cor-
respondence and many interviews with people posted on
San Francisco real estate values. After a careful consid-
eration of all the offers, the block between Sansome and
Battery, Clay and Merchant streets, considering the price
and location, was decided upon as the most desirable.
Supervising Architect Taylor also reached the same con-
clusion, and upon our reports the Secretary concluded

— 595 —

lircollrclioiis of <i SnvsjxiiK'niKin

to accept the oiler lor lliis silc, AIiuosl at the moment
this conclusion was reached the Secretary received a tele-
gram from the agents of the owners of the corner of
Pine and Sansome streets, offering that fine lot as a site
at a very reasonahlc price. The Secretary asked me what
I thought ahout it. In reply, I said that the lot presented
in the new offer was more desirable than any of the sites
offered in the original proposals, and in fact it was about
the best place in the city for the proposed building. The
agents came to Washington and the deal was made after
some little dickering. Since then, a substantial and costly
banking building has been erected by the government.
The owners wanted more money than Congress had
appropriated for the purchase of a lot, but as the piece
of land was larger than was needed by the government,
they reserved a piece off the west end of the lot and gave
the balance to Uncle Sam for $375,000. Tliis southwest
corner of the intersection of Pine and Sansome streets
was owned by my father in the very early part of the
'50s, He told me that at the time of his ownership there
was quite a sand hill just back of the lot. He said that
he soon sold the lot for a few hundred dollars, being
satisfied with a small gain.

The President, learning of my experience in the print-
ing and publishing business, placed in my hands a great
mass of typewritten matter relative to the conduct of the
Government Printing Office at the national capital, with
the request that I examine it and give him my conclu-
sions. The papers embraced complaints from various
departments, answers, reports and sub-reports of investi-
gators, statements of employees and officials of the big
print shop, as well as of experts and dealers in paper,
printing machinery, furniture, etc. I devoted every
moment of the day that 1 could spare at my office to this
task, then took the papers home with me at the close of
the day and worked late into the nights for nearly two
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Official Life in Washington

weeks, before I was able to make a report to the President.
The charge against the administration of the government
printing establishment was extravagant management,
making the cost of printing for all the departments exceed
the allowance of Congress for blanks, stationery, printing,
etc. It was while engaged with this matter that 1 first
met and had acquaintance with Senator Root, the famous
Secretary of State of the Roosevelt administration. I
found him a very pleasant man to meet. I regarded Mr.
Root as the brainiest man, the most practical, and best
posted on every-day affairs in Washington oificial life.
I heard President Roosevelt say: "Mr. Root was one of
the great Secretaries of State, and we have had some
great men in that office." I learned afterwards that the
Secretary of the Navy, Victor Metcalf, who, as you know,
was from Oakland and an old friend of mine, was respon-
sible for acquainting the President with my knowledge
and experience in the printing business. While there was
some labor attached to the commission, I rather enjoyed
the work and did not object to it.

I regretted the close of President Roosevelt's term of
office. I found him a very pleasant man to work with,
appreciative of all efforts, and enthusiastically grateful
for success in what he considered of public need or utility.
I was frequently surprised with exhibitions of his won-
derful memory as shown in his dealings with details of
affairs and his knowledge of the character and capacity
of men. His capacity for work was tremendous. By his
systematic methods he was to be found at places in his
office and the White House at various hours, as if his
activities and official life were being regulated by a time
card. Interviews with the President by others tlian
those whose position and official business gave them
greater privileges were made by appointments previously
arranged. The parties to these appointments would
assemble in the Cabinet room adjoining the President's

— 397 —

Recollections of <t Scin.-ipdprrmnn

private ollice, separated by folding doors which remained
closed until the hour of the uieelinf»s, wliich as I recall
was 11 A. M. By this time the room would be tilled with
twenty to thirty visitors. Very punctually the doors
would be opened and the President would step into the
Cabinet room, the visitors would rise and remain stand-
ing while he passed around among them, picking out
with unerring certainty the visitors present with no pur-
pose other than to gratify an ambition and to be able
to say that they had met and talked with the Chief Magis-
trate when they were in Washington. Notwithstanding,
if any of them had prepared speeches they intended to
make to the President when presented to him, he did
most if not all of the talking, skilfully parrying all attempt
at reply. Visitors who had no business seldom obtained
more than a few seconds of the President's time, but
his humor, good-natured remarks, and manner always
placed them in a way of leaving the White House office
pleased with the President if not with themselves. When
the President, passing from one to another of the visitors,
met a person with business, the matter was discussed
then and there, if it embraced something that could be
disposed of without consumption of more than a few
moments of time. He lost not a second of time in the
visitors' hour ceremony, for while in the process of sifting
out those with no business and ridding himself of those
with business of minor importance, his eye would light
on those w^ho had more important affairs, and he would
signal them to remain or go into his private office to
meet him after he had completed the round of the room,
which seldom required more than fifteen or twenty min-
utes. Being occasionally called to the President's office,
I was several times a witness to the interesting scene or
ceremony described. There was, how^ever, one occasion
when the President laid aside for a time the rushing man-
ner, high-pressure action, and the "don't-take-an-unneces-
— 398 —

Official Life in Washington

sary-second-of-my-time" look, and that was on March 3,
1909, the last day of his term of office, when he received
the officials of his administration who called to speak of
their regrets at the parting and to bid him good-bye. He
stood there, plainly showing the relief he felt in freedom
from the cares of the great office he was about to lay
aside. His work as President was done. That it had
been well done was vouchsafed by the laudations of his
countrymen and by the plaudits of the rest of the civilized
world. During the seven years of his incumbency in the
great office he had made a name for advocating every-
thing that stood for good in government and for the
betterment of man, and a name inseparable from the
history of our country. On that day he was filled with
the spirit that becomes a man conscious of having success-
fully performed a difficult task, but with it there was
tenderness and sincerity of manner never to be forgotten
in the farewells to his associates. For myself. I was
pleased and proud that I had been even for a short period,
and in a very small way, a part of his administration,
and it was gratifying to receive his thanks and apprecia-
tion for what little assistance I had been able to give him.
I saw considerable of President Taft, who succeeded
Roosevelt. He was a very able man and, as everybody
knows, of excessively good nature, with a strong ambition
to give an administration of his duties that would com-
mend itself to all factions of his party, and at the same
time receive the sanction of his countrymen regardless
of party organization. His great size, with an increasing
avoirdupois, was a matter of considerable annoyance to
him. On one occasion, when arranging with him to pose
for a likeness from which to make the usual presidential
medal, he said to me : "The best photograph I ever had
taken was out in your town, and it is the one my wife
calls her picture." I asked him in what particular did
the San Francisco photographer excel. "Oh, he was able

— 399 —

lifcollrclions of a Xrinspaprrman

to conceal some ol my avoirdupois," he replied with a
smile. President Tall was broad-minded and had little
patience lor the small things that divided men, and it was
largely due to his eflorts to ignore these matters that bred
the factions in the Republican party that made his
re-election to the presidency an impossibility. Mis ways
of meeting people and his indifference to precedence or
system in this matter were most distressing and discour-
aging to his subordinates whose duty it was to arrange
meetings and make appointments for visitors, ollicial and
ordinary. Senators were shocked and offended by having
the President absorb their time and apparently ignore
their presence in his attentions to ordinary visitors. High
oflicials with important affairs in hand, or what they
might think to be so, could impatiently wait the Presi-
dent's pleasure by standing first on one foot and then
the other, while he with leisurely manner was laugh-
ingly engaged in conversation with some other person.
It \vas my good fortune to be present at one of President
Taft's first morning hours to visitors, with some other
officials familiar with the customs and manner of his
predecessor at this hour, and we could not help noting
this difference. Taft spent almost as much time with the
first visitor he spoke to as Roosevelt did in clearing the
room of visitors. Those who had business shook their
heads in displeasure, while tourists, of course, were
pleased to be able to have something more than a snap-
shot view of the chief magistrate, and were delighted to
be able to carry on some little conversation with him.
Whether following private secretaries succeeded in
changing the new President's way of meeting these
engagements, I have never heard. I left Washington
shortly after Mr. Taft's inauguration. With the change
of administration, Franklin MacVeagh succeeded Mr. Cor-
telyou as Secretary of the Treasury. Being the chief of
our department, I soon became acquainted with him,
— 400 —

Official Life in Washington

through the frequency of official interviews. It is a pleas-
ure to say that he was a most capable man and an ideal
selection for this important office. He had himself
achieved great success in business and was an authority
on banking matters, being a finely educated man and,
beyond all, practical. He did much by his untiring efforts
for new legislation on the currency question, and he
accomplished more than w^as ever done before in stop-
ping wastes in the general cost of running the government.
He insisted upon the application of business methods in
transacting the government's business, and in this way
he succeeded in saving several millions of dollars per
year in ordinary expenditures. If the American people
appreciate the efforts of their officials in economical
administration, his reputation will pass into the history of
our country as excelling all others in this direction.

George E. Roberts, a newspaperman of Iowa, who
became the Director of the Mint not long after I entered
the mint service, and who had served up to the time that
I entered upon the duties of Director, early won a place in
my heart on account of his kindly ways and generous con-
sideration for those under his direction in the mint work.
Besides, to know him was to be impressed with his intelli-
gent ideas on all matters concerning our government and
policies of administration, and economic questions in gen-
eral. He w^as especially well informed on matters of
finance, and moreover possessed a remarkable ability
to write on the subject in a w^ay to attract, interest, and
instruct the ordinary reader. He had the rare power of
stripping financial subjects of dryness and laying them
before the people so that all who could read could under-
stand them. He did more than any one writer in the
United States to expose the fallacy carried in the silver
craze that swept over our country in 1896. To his efforts,
more than any other person, belongs the credit of starling
the agitation for a reform of our financial system which

I\('<(>llc(li()!Ls of (I i\cn>siHtj)('rin(in

liiially rcsiillcd in llic new I'\(l(r;il H(S( rvc H;iiik Act. It
\v;is liis Ircnclianl jxn thai lirst |)()iiil((l out in lan^iia^c
that coiihl l)c uiidci'slood. that it was in Mm power of
Congress to prevent the possihilily of rt'Ciiriinf» linancial
panics by creating a linancial system similar to tlic
method common to every other civilized govern ni(iit ol
the world; that under our money system panics were not
the outgrowth of poor business conditions, hut were more
tlie results of periods ol prosperity. Mr. lioberts has con-
tributed many valuable papers on economic questions to
magazines and newspapers.

In Washington, where rules of social life are so rigid
and the performance of certain social obligations are so
exacting, a person who has hitherto lived a rather uncon-
ventional life may be expected to be somewhat disturbed,
and view what is required of him as a duty somewhat
undesirable, if not disagreeable. I confess that this was
my impression, although I was pleased to be able to
attend two or three of the President's receptions. I had
heard much of the magnificence of these affairs. I had
considerable desire, if not curiosity, to be present at an
assembly where the foremost ladies and gentlemen of
our country had been gathered for social pleasures. These
functions were regularly held each winter and were the
principal events in Washington social life. They have
been so frequently and minutely described that I will
not attempt to give an account of my observations. It
is, perhaps, needless to add that I avoided all per-
functory social affairs other than those to which my
official position required attendance. An amusing inci-
dent occurred at an afternoon reception, given by a promi-
nent banker of the city, which Mrs. Leach and I attended
not very long after we had taken up our home in Wash-
ington. There was no attempt in this affair to make a
lavish display of wealth and there was more of a cordial
and hospitable atmosphere than is usual in such functions.

— 402 —

Official Life in Washington

Quite a number of prominent people were there, among
whom were several representatives of foreign countries.
The host, after introducing me to several of the visitors,
finally escorted me to a seat by the side of a lady from
New York State, to whom I was introduced with quite an
elaborate mention of the official title of my position
with the government. The lady was a trifle hard of
hearing. The noise of the music and buzzing of conver-
sation probably increased the difficulty of understanding
distinctly what the host had said, for she misunderstood
him and thought he had described me as an ambassador
of some foreign country, the name of which she did not
catch. Now this lady was one of thousands who come to
Washington as sightseers and who esteem it a matter of
great fortune to be able to talk with men prominent in
the world, so that they can go back home and interest
their friends with tales of association with what in
Europe might be called the royalty of the country. I
immediately discovered the lady's error and the love of
humor prevented me from doing the courteous thing at
once in correcting her. She commenced a series of rapid-
fire questions leading to information concerning the
country I represented. She was particularly anxious, and
therefore I presumed she wanted to know just who I was
so as to be able to decide whether I was worth while
wasting any time on when there might be others of greater
importance. She Was too proud to confess a deficiency
in hearing as an excuse for asking me what country I
was from, and too polite to put the question direct. She
wanted to know if Washington life differed from what I
expected. I replied that I did not recall forming any
thought upon the subject, but I could say that I found
some difference in the way people observed social customs
in Washington and my country.

Next, how long had I enjoyed service of my country
in the national capital? I truthfully replied, "Only for
a few weeks." /^^^ __

liccollcclions of a Snvsjxijx'nudu

So fnr I ;im sure my replies to lier (jueries eoiifirrncd
her in Ihe Ijelief thai she ahiiost liad in her hands a hve
l'()reif»iiei- of (hslineh'oii ; and she (\\{\ nol conceal the
ph'asni'e it ifave hei'. Now she wanted lo know what
kind ol" weather we had in my country, and if we had
snow, and other questions as to chmate. So I lohl her
that people who were able to pay for it could in almost
any month of the year have any kind of climate they
desired. Six months of the year there was scarcely a
fleck in the sky, and while on part of our land the sun
beat down with almost tropical fierceness, yet such places
were in sight of districts of most delightful temperature,
as well as mountain sections, marked by the gleaming
white of perpetual snow. In truth our climate was unsur-
passed by that of any other country on the face of the
globe. It was where living out of doors a greater part
of the year was a delightful pleasure. My lady friend
was plainly perplexed. Her questioning gave me oppor-
tunity to speak of our magnificent trees, the palms, mag-
nolias, the grand oaks, the lofty conifera of such great
growth that one tree would make lumber sufficient to
build a family house. Then I described the wonderful
variety of wild flowers and their beauty, growing in such
profusion in their season that they colored the landscape
and were visible miles away. Our land was rich in varied
productive qualities, and I knew of no place on earth that
could surpass my country in the variety and excellence
of the fruits from its plantations of pineapples and orange
groves, its peach and apple orchards, and vineyards, etc.
My lady's brow contracted; perhaps the mention of pine-
apples, palms, and magnolias gave a hint of a possible
Oriental origin for me. However, she l)rought the con-
versation to a climax by the query if in my country it
was lawful for men to have more than one wife. I was
cornered, whether it was intentional on her part or not.
I was pleased that it was so, for it was with difficulty I
— 404 —

Official Life in Washington

had held my composure, and I felt I had gone further
than proprieties should permit. Therefore 1 said: "My
dear lady, you have evidently been laboring under a
mistaken idea as to my country and my position, for I
am no foreigner, and do not represent another country.
I am just a plain, ordinary American, temporarily called
to Washington to look after the conduct of Uncle Sam's
mints. My home is no more than California, with all
the attractions I have truthfully described to you." She
was disappointed, and soon found excuse to devote her
attention to others present. It so happened that in
taking our departure from the gathering we left the apart-
ments at the same time with this lady and were the only
occupants of the descending elevator, but she gave not
the slightest indication either by word or expression of
countenance that she had ever held conversation with me,
or had even seen me before. What had been an interest-
ing and amusing incident to me evidently was a matter
of disappointment to her, and she could not resist the
opportunity of exercising her womanly privilege of ignor-
ing my presence. I certainly did not blame her.

The first twelve months or so in Washington passed
most quickly. My time was so fully occupied with new
and interesting duties, which with almost daily contact
with the foremost men of the administration, as well as
with many distinguished men who had business with the
government, made my position highly interesting to me.
I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to study at close range
the characters of the men great in affairs, whose names
were familiar to every citizen of our country, but of
whom few people had any knowledge other than tluil
pictured by the daily press, magazines, etc. After a while
the novelty of all this wore off and there was more time
to think of the dear ones and the old associates on the
other side of the continent. In short, I began to long to
return to our California home. 1 remember, when this

— /f05 —

lircoUcclions of a Scivsjxiprnudn

feeling ciiinc on I wiolc ;is follows lo :i IriciHl wIkj
iii(|iiir('<l how I liked my ihw |)o.silion: "WMsliiii^loii is
a mosl hcMulil'iil cily iiiul lovely phice to live; in, iind there
are lots of nice j)e()j)le here who do cverylhin^ Hkv can
to make it pleasant lor strangers like us. Neverthek'ss,
they do not fill the j)Iacos of friends and associates of a
lifetime, and I must confess that I have begun to look for
the day when I sliall be packing my grips for permanent
return to the Coast. Mrs. L. and Harry are ready to go
any moment." However, the day did not come for some
months following. In the summer of 1909 I received a
telegram offering me the position of general manager of
the People's Water Company of Oakland, my home city,
and this gave me the excuse I wanted to sever my con-
nection with the government service. I tendered my
resignation, which took effect on August 1 of the above
year, making exactly twelve years devoted by me to
mint work with Uncle Sam. In accepting my resignation,
Secretary MacVeagh sent me a letter of such a nature
as to make a pleasing finish of my service with the
Treasury Department.

[The End]

if06

INDEX

Acapulco, 68.

Adventure in the Sacramento flood, 5-6.

Adventures, 5-6, 30-31, 32-33, 71-74, 79.

Adventures at sea, 79.

Aetna Springs, Napa County, residence at, 216-218.

American River, adventure near, 30-31.

Amusements at school, 51.

Anthony & Morrill, 176.

Argus, newspaper, 90-91.

Armstrong, G. R., 323, 330.

Arrival in Sacramento, 3.

Atlantic voyage, 71-74.

Balloting, methods in vogue in early days, 15-17, 21.

Ballots, evils and abuses of, 19-21.

"Baltimore Harry," 166.

Barrett, Lawrence, 163-164.

Bottles, value of, in early days, 28.

Baxter, Capt., 61.

Bear, grizzly, 97.

Bee-raising in Napa, 61.

Bell, J. T., 260.

Benton, Joseph A., 37.

Bigelow, William S.. 381.

Booth, Newton, 184-185.

Borland, Archie, 55.

Bosqui, Edward, 110.

Brannan, Samuel, 53.

Braunhart, Samuel, 227-229.

Bread made bv Indians, remarkable character of, 95-96.

Brenner, Victor D., 384.

Brick buildings in Napa City, 45.

Brooks, Benjamin S., 112.

Burbank, W. F., 260.

Burns, William J., 301.

Business, early undertakings in, 64-65.

California during the Civil War, 81-84.

California Pacific Railroad Company, 143-144, 154-156.

California Stage Company, 40-41.

Calistoga, 53-54.

Calistoga, mining around, 53-55.

Carp, German, introduced into California, 168-169.

"Carpetbaggers," political faction, 22.

Catfish in Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, 167.

Cavalry of Napa, unintentionally demoralized, 85-86.

Chabot, Anthony, 158-160.

Chagres River, 2.

— 407

lircollrclioiis of (i N ewspaperman

Chapman, i)riv.ilciT, Kl.

Clicinisl, ;i rciii.iikiiMi-, 2!Mi-2!)7.

(",liin;i Sloii/^li, 7.

Cliiiusc, cxcciilion of", .'{.")-'{().

Cliiiicsc, iiiiirdcr ol", in S.icnimciilo, '.]').

Cliiiu-sc si'iviml, riiilhriiliK'ss of, 17IM7I.

Cliioiiu' iron indiisliy, 1!)0 IDl, V.)2-VXi.

Cluirclu's in i\;i|);i (jly, 48-11).

(;inn;il);ir discovered ne.ir (lalistoga, 53-55.

("inn;d);ir nv.w Vidlcjo, 108.

(]inn;d);ir niininj,', 1!).'M!) 1.

(livil War, eflfct upon (lalifornia. 81-84.

(Plains in San I'raiuisco and San Pablo bays, KiD.

Co^blan, John M., 117.

C.oin, current in Ihe 'oOs, 20.

C.oin, great transportation of, 387-301.

Coinage of 1!)07, 371-387.

Cold weather, ()-8.

Comstock mining excitement, 100-198.

Comstock mining shares, value of, 108.

Conkling, Roscoe, 231.

Consolidated Virginia mining stock, 108.

('oombs, Judge, 212.

Coombs, Nathan, 01.

Co-operative plan for shipbuilding, 187-188.

Cortelyou, George B., 388-389, 30l!

County seat of Solano, bitter contest over, 182-185.

Criminal ingenuity of Mint cashier, 305-312.

Crooked politician, a, 278-270.

Crossing the isthmus, 2.

Crown Point mining stock, 198.

Curious accident, 125-126.

Curtis, W. E., 231.

Cyanide process, difTiculties imposed on Mint, 290.

Daggett, John, 289.

Daily Reporter, newspaper, 115-110.

Daley, George, 111.

Dangerous adventure, 30.

Daniels, G. B., 289.

Dare, John T., 89-90.

Dean, Coll, 55.

Debate between McKenna and Luttrell, 205-2fiS.

Dewoodv, T. J., 106-108.

Deyaert, Father, 48-10.

de Young brothers. 111.

Directory of Vallejo, 136.

Dornin, George W., 359.

Dramatic Chronicle, newspaper, 111-112.

Dramatic experiences, 160-105.

Dynamite, use of, in San Francisco fire of 1906, 341-344.

Early boy scout organization, 37.

Early life, 1.

Earthquake of 1868, 132-133.

— WS —

Index

Earthquake of 1906, 313-315.

Eccentric printer, an, 185-187.

Echo, early Napa newspaper, 113.

Eckert, W. R., 135.

Edgerton, Henry, 84.

Eels, freshwater, 167-168.

Eggs, unfortunate disaster, 107.

Election evils and abuses, 19.

Election tickets, 15-17, 19, 23-26.

Elections in early days, 14.

Emblem of Liberty, 385-386.

Enright, Joseph, 57.

Enright & Leach threshing machine, 57-58.

Escape drowning, 5-6.

Eureka, name originally proposed for City of Vallejo, 138.

Execution, public, in Sacramento, 35-36.

Executions, demoralizing effects upon spectators, 36.

Expedition against the Indians, 136-137.

Fairfield, county seat of Solano, attempt to remove, 182-185.

Family reunion, 69-70.

Farming in Napa County, 55-58.

Farming methods, 55-58.

Farnham, S. C, 237, 239, 251.

Farragut, David, 141, 210.

Farragut Hall and theater, 210, 219.

Fatal accident to young companion, 77.

Felton, John B., 194.

Figueroa, Jose, expedition of, against the Indians, 136-137,

Financial difficulties, 144.

Fire department of Vallejo, 198-201.

Fire of 1906 at San Francisco, 317-367.

First Baptist Church, Sacramento, 57.

First dollar earned by author, 65.

First house erected in Vallejo, 138.

First public school in Sacramento, 10.

First railroad in California, 31-32.

Fish culture in California, 165-170.

Fisher, "Bill," stage driver, 119-120.

Flour mill at St. Helena, 59.

Flour mill at Yountville, 59.

Flour mills of Napa Valley, 58-59.

Friedlander, Isaac, 146-147.

Frisbie, John B., 61, 103, 142, 146.

Fruit growing in Napa Valley, 59-60.

Fruit raising on Suscol Rancho, 108-109.

Gagan, William, 177.

Gambling at the State Fair, 39-40.

German carp, 168-169.

Grain elevator at Vallejo, 146-149, 170.

Grain elevator, collapse of, 147.

Grant, Ulysses S., 211, 233-234.

Grant, Ulysses S., Jr., 211.

Great fire of San Francisco, 1906, 317-320, 327-329.

— 40.9 —

Recollections of a Newspaperman

(iri'at (ire of S;in I'"i:m<isc(), iisi- of (lyrKiiiiilc in, ."'11 -.'Ml.

(IiH'iil i:iil\v;iy strike ol' 1S!)1, 'li')')-'rrX.

(Iri'iil V:ill('.\, New York, 7(i.

(iri't^K. LiviiiKslon, 11;").

CrcMM. Wcllinj^lon, :W.).

(iic'MK', WiliniiiMloii, I I!).

(Irc-cii. !•:. II., Ml.

Circ'c'ii, Sclh, Kif).

(ir«'i'nl);icks, iinpopuhnil v of, in (^iiliforni;!, 120.

(iri/./ly l)C';n-, iidvcnliirc with, '.17.

(iold, i;ir!.,'c' jiniounls of, handled in Mini al San l-'rancisco, 21)5.

(lold mining' in Napa Ooiinty, 53-55.

Gunpowder and small boys, 34.

Hale, Governor, of New Hampshire, 195-100, 231.

Hale, Eugene, 233.

Hall, Mrs. T. W., 148.

Hammill, Joseph, 3(i().

Harrier, 1). W., 121, 238, 257.

Harrison, W. P., 111.

Hartson, Chancellor, 125, 129, 225.

Haskins, I). C steamer, 145.

Haslit, alias "Pilgrim," 185-187.

Hatteras, Cape, storm experienced off, 69.

Hawes, T. W., 322.

Hessian flv, in California, 246-247.

Hilborn, S. G., 24, 201, 287.

"Hobbs the office-seeker," anecdote of, 127-129.

Honev industry, in Napa, 61.

Hooker, Joseph, 211-212.

Howell, J. I., 90, 176-178.

Hubbs, Paul K., 141.

"Hulks," description of, 33-34.

Humboldt County, discovery of oil in, 91.

Hunting trip, 51-52.

Huxley, Thomas, anecdote of, 50.

Hlumination, early methods of, 13.

Indians of Napa, 46.

Insurance losses, paid in fire of 1906, 359.

Interest rates in California, 226.

Irving, Samuel C, 148.

Isthmus of Panama, 1.

Jackson, J. P., 141, 152-154, 172, 197-198, 213-214.

Joseph Pcrldns, schooner, 188-189.

Journey to California, 1.

Judd, Orange, 141.

Junk, a source of profit to small boys, 28-29.

Juvenile attempt at oratory, 38-39.

Kearney, Denis, 229-230.
Kerfoot, Lee, 302, 303, 304, 305.

— 410 —

Index

Kilburn, Ralph, 59.
King, Homer S., 367, 369.
Klink, N. B., 148.
Knowland, Congressman, 300.

Lakeville, 137.
Land titles, 102.
Leach, Abraham, 157.
Edwin, 172-174.
Edwin W., 12, 41, 57-58.
Frank A., acquires interest in Oakland Enquirer, 259-260.

aids passage of Bill 404, 223-225.

appointed Acting Secretary of the Treasury, 395.

appointed member of the Assay Conunission, 281.

becomes Director of U. S. Mint at Washington, 368.

becomes ranch owner, 241-242.

begins career in planing mill, 88.

constructs printing press model, 175.

delegate to Legislature, 217, 241, 243-245.

difficulties and embarrassments while in Mint, 300-312.

earns first dollar, 65.

enters employ of Edward Bosqui, 110-112.

enters oflice of Napa Register, 90.

establishes Benicia Keiv Era, 255.

establishes Napa Dailij Reporter, 115.

establishes printing oifice at Napa, 114.

establishes Vallejo Chronicle, 12L

establishes Vallejo Review, and Evening Chronicle, 252.

exposes defaulting cashier of U. S. Assay Office, Seattle,
301-306.

exposes swindling scheme, 391-395.

in search of oil in Humboldt County, 92-98.

inaugurates publication of public records, 180.

installs Hoe cylinder press, 274.

institutes changes in the Mint, 291-292.

investigates extravagance in Government printing oflice,
396-397.

joins infantry company, 81.

leaves Sacramento, 42.

made Postmaster of Vallejo, 249.

makes Eastern trip in 1880, 230-237.

marries, 148.

moves to Oakland, 258.

practices economy, 89.

president of Vallejo Board of Trade, 190.

purchases brick building in Vallejo, 171-172.

real estate, transactions of, 213-215.

sells Oakland Enquirer, 289.

speculates in lots in Vallejo, 174-175.

Superintendent of U. S. Mint at San Francisco, 289-312.

target practice of, 84-85.
Legislative Bill 404, history of, 223-225.
Legislature of 1854, 39.

passes state uniform ballot, 26-27.
Liberty, emblem of, described, 385-386.

Lincoln, Abraham, assassination of, effect upon California, 84-85.
Luttrell, J. K., 204-209.

— 4/z —

Recoiled ions of o Newspaperman

McClnlcliv. .I.niics, 177. ^

M;i((:i«-IIisli, I'rcd. 211.

iMcCiilloiiMli, .lohii. l(i:M(;i.

M;i(l)iiu'r\ :in(l iiiclhods cniploved in I . S. Mint ;it .S;in rninrisco.

2!M)-2!)I).
McKi'iin;!. .loscpli, 1«3, 203-207, 209-210, 222, 238, 287.
M:i(Vc-:imIi, iMiinklin. 100.
MiiUoli' HivcT. !)2, !»;').
M;iv, \V. H., 22 I, 225.
Mcdill, .losc'pli, Ml.
Methodist (liuircii in N;tp;i City, '18.

college in N;ip;i, 51.
Mcxic;in (lalilorninns in N;ip;i, Ki-lS.
Mi^lu'ls. IkMirv, 17!).
Miller, .John R, 213, 250.
Millikon ('anyon, 157.
Mining, chronic iron, 1!)0-1!)1.

Conistock excitement, 10(i-108.

in Napa in early times, 53-55.
Mint at San Francisco, see U. S. Mint at San Francisco.
Mizner, L. B., 255.
MolFitt, F. J,, 259.
Montgomery, Alexander, 113-114.
Morrill. Paul, 177, 178.
Morrill, Senator, 386.
Mount Davidson Tunnel, 139.
Murder of Manuel Vera, 104-105.

Napa cavalry, unintentionally demoralized, 85-86.
city, churches of, 48-49.
lire protection of, 117.
first building erected in, 61.
in early days, 45-46.
laid out, 61.

school in early days, 47.
county, character of population of, 46-48.
chrome iron deposits in, 190-191.
oil excitement in, 100-101.
Echo, newspaper, 113.
Junction, railroad to, 132.
Register, newspaper, 90, 113.
Reporter, newspaper, 113. 115-119.
Valley, general description of, 51-61.
Navy yard, men emploved in, 212.
Neate,\Tohn, 193-195.
New constitution, 218.
New Era, newspaper, 255.
New World, steamer, 144-145.
Nye, A. B., 148-151, 222, 260, 284, 290.

Oak Knoll Orchard. 59.

Oakland, City of. Water Front Company, 282-286.

Oakland Enquirer, newspaper. 259-260, 289.

Express, newspaper. 256-257.

News, newspaper, 177.

— 4i2 —

Index

Oil in Humboldt County, 91.

Osborn, B. T., 138.

"Othello," early performance of, in Vallejo, 164.

Oysters in California waters, 169.

"Palace cars," early type of, 191.

Panama steamers in 1859, described, 66-67.

Pardee, George, 284.

Patchet, John, 60.

Peach pits, valuable in early days, 28.

Pendergast, Wirt, 117.

Pennycook, W. D., 251, 257.

Perkins, George C, 280-281. 365.

Petaluma Creek, 137.

Petrolia, Town of, 92, 96.

Phylloxera, 60.

Pierce, Harrison, 61.

Pierson, G. C, 146.

Pigeon potpies, poor eating, 08.

"Pilgrim," eccentric printer, 185-187.

Pixlev, Frank, 232-233.

Political crook, a, 278-279.

torchlight processions, 11.
Politics, 175-176, 217-242, 252-253, 275-276, 287-288.

in Vallejo, 129-130.
Population of Vallejo, 136.
Postmaster of Vallejo, 249, 253.
Potter, Nathaniel, 75, 76.
Powell, Abraham, 147.

Mary Louise, 147-148.
Presbyterian Church in Napa, 48.
Presidential campaign of 1880, 230-237.
Printing press model constructed by author, 175.

used in Vallejo office, 135-136.
Providence, R. I., at opening of Civil War, 75.
Pullman railway strike, 26.5-273.

Quicksilver discovered at Calistoga, 53-54.
mining, 193-194.

Railroad, California Pacific Company, 143-144, 154-156.

Central Pacific Company, 156.

first in Sacramento, 31-32.

Napa Valley, 155.

Stockton and Copperopolis, 155.
Railroads, "palace cars," early type of, 191.

traveling overland in 1875, 191-192.
Railwav strike of 1894, 265-273.
Ranch life, 241-242, 245-250, 254-255.
Real estate transactions, 142, 171-172, 213-215.
Redding, B. B., 105.
Register, Napa, newspaper, 113.
Relief fund, handled temporarily at Mint, 339, 349.
Reporter, Napa, newspaper, 113, 115-119.
Return to California during Civil War, 78-80.

— i13 —

HccoUccUoiis of (I Nf'ivspaprriiHiii

Hrvcnuc :in(l l;i\ l;i\vs, \U\\ 10 1. 22:{-22r).

l^icc. Doctor, 11(1.

liick.iid, T. A.. 2!)S.

Ho.kI Irom SMci.imcnIo to N.ip'i. <l('Sfril)CfI, ()2-!).'i.

Hol.hiiis. |{. I)., 222.

IU)l)iTls. (icorM<' I"-. 'M'A'k :{(;<S, 101.

Hollt'c, m;iU'in;il fjiniilv of ;iiillioi-, (>!).

Hoosc'vc-lt. 'ilu'odori'. '.il^y-'Ml, iJ.Sl. 'AH'.i, 3!)7-3y(>.

Hussiiin HivcT Vnllcy. !)2-I):}.

Sacramento Bee, newspaper, 177.

(loparliire from, 11-42.

(lisaslroiis lire of 1851, 10.

lire of l.S:)2, 1.

lirst public school, 10.

flood of l«r)2, 3-5.

in cariv (lavs, 40.

railway strike of 1894, 269.

stage comi)anies, 40-41.

Sunday schools, 37.

Union, ne\vsi)ai)er, 177.
San Francisco earth(juake of 190G, 313-315.

fire of 1900, 317-320. 327-329, 331-334.
correspondence, 360-307.
freaks of, 344-345.
loss of life estimated, 346.
losses and insurance, 359-360.
losses and reconstruction, 352-356.
strange elTects of, 356-359,
use of dynamite in, 341-344.

Mint, see U. S. Mint at San Francisco.

Sub-treasury, new site and building, 395.
Saint Gaudens, Augustus, 374, 375, 376.

criticism of his designs, 378-380.

designs coinage of 1907. 374.
Saint Helena, flour mill at, 59.
Saint John mine, 108. 193-196.
Saint Johns, N. B., winter in, 70-71.
Salamanca, N. Y., founded, 77.
San Pablo Engine Company, 199.
"Sandlot" poilitics, 22!»-230.
Santa Rosa, wrecked, 79-80.
Sargent, A. A., 193, 262-264.
Sarven patent, 12.
Sawyer. K. H., 182.
School life in Sacramento, 8-10.
Sebastopol. flour mill at. 59.
Selby Smelting and Lead Company, 308.
Selling a stove, 29.
Seymour, John F., 389.
Shad in California, 165, 167.
Shaw. Leslie. 362.
Sherman, E. A., 37-38.
Shipbuilding, co-operative plan for, 187-188.

in Vallejo. 189-190.
Shotgun, historv of a, 61-64.
Shuck, Reverend, 37.

— /fl/t —

Index

"Silurians," political faction, 22.

Silver in Napa County, 54-55.

Silverado, 55.

Skating in Sacramento, 7.

Smith, Andrew, 261-262.

Snow, R. W., 126.

Solano County, how named, 138.

Sonoma founded, 137.

Soscol, see Suscol.

Soule, W. B., 251.

Southern sympathizers in California, 81.

Squatter difficulties, 103-105.

Squatters murder Manuel Vera, 104-105.

Stage companies of Sacramento, 40-41.

Stage driver, early day, 119-120.

Stanford, Mrs. Leland, 273.

Star of the West, steamer, 68.

State Fair, gambling at, 39-40.

State Printer, contest for office of, 176. -

State Sportsmen's Association, 165, 166.

Steamers to Panama, description of, 66-68.

Steinhart, I., 369.

Stillwagon, W. W., 54, 100-101.

Stock gambling, 196-198.

Strange effects of San Francisco fire of 1906, 356-359.

Strong, L. H., 90.

Studebaker, of Chicago, formerly a Californian, 41.

Sturgeon at Vallejo. 169-170.

Sunday schools in Sacramento, 37.

Supreme Court of United States, decision in land grants, 105-106.

Suscol Rancho, 59, 105-106, 108, 137.

acquired by W. N. Thompson, 108.

origin, of name, 137.
Sutro, Adolph, 139.

Tunnel Company, value of shares, 139-140.
Swimming hole in Sacramento, hard experience in, 32-33.
Swindling scheme exposed, "391-395.

Taft, William H., 399-400.

"Tapeworm" ticket. 20-26.

Tawney, James A., 388.

Telegrams sent during fire of 1906, 329-330. 334. 340.

Thompson, Captain, 59.

James, 109.

J. B., 61.

Simpson, 108.

William Neely, 108.
Threshing machines, 56-58.
Toccao, steamer, 8i).
Traveling overland in 1875, 191-192.
Tyler, George W., 227-229.

United States Government Printing Office, 396-397.
United States Mint at San Francisco. 289-312.

correspondence during fire of 1906. 362-367.

how saved from fire of 1906. 322-327.

in fire of 1906. 360.

machinery in, 290-291. — ^15

liccollcclions of (I XciDspfipmiinn

I'tiiU'd Shilcs Mint :il S;m I''r;mcis(o (coiitiiiiicd )

ri'lief fund liimdlcd ;il. XV.), :M!).

Ir.iiisfcT of fluids al'lcr (iic of lIH)(i, .'{.'{(i.

(lutii's of I )i lector, 'MO-'M'A.

gri'iit Irjinsporliilion of coin to Denver, '.iHl-'.V.i] .

new c'oiniif^e of 1!)()7, 37 l-.'5.S7.
United Slides Assiiy OMice, Seidtle—

remarkable crime, detection of the criminal, .'JOl-1512.

Vacaville, 220-221.

Vallejo Chronicle. newsi)ai)er, 21, 121-i:{0, l.'J.'M.'M, 130, 237-238.
City of, 22, 102-103, lO.S, ir)7, 170-171.
awakenin.i,' f)f activity in, 131-132.
IJoard of Trade organized, 100.
business of, in 1800, 140.
capital of California, 138.
(lirectorv of, 130.
fire department of, 198-201.
first house erected in, 138.
grain elevator at, 1 10-147.
history of, and how named, 130-138.
Indians of, 130-137.
politics of, 129-130, 182-185, 204-209.
population of, 130.
water supply of, 157-100.
Vallejo Dramatic Association, 100-165.
Evening Chronicle, newspaper, 252.
Mariano Guadalupe, 01, 103, 105, 138.
gives state house at Vallejo, 108.
land grant of, 102-103, 137.
Dr. Platon, son of General, 130.
Railroad Company, 145-140.
Recorder, newspaper, 121.
Review, newspaper, 252.
Salvador, 60.
Vanderlip, F. A., 363.
Veeder, E. P., 48.

Vera, Manuel, killed by squatters, 104-105.
"Very superior chemist," a, 290-297.
Vineyards in Napa Valley, 59-00.
Voyage to Atlantic Coast in 1859, 00-09.
perilous experiences during, 71-74.

Wakcman, Ned, 145.

Water Front Company, of Oakland, 282-286.

Water supplv of Vallejo, 157-100.

Wells Fargo" & Co., 389.

West Oakland, railway strike of 1894, 270-273.

Wheeler, Charles, 140!

Whitney, George E., 259, 261.

Wilson," E. J., 157, 174, 213, 241.

Wines, Captain, 89.

Winter in St. .Tohns. N. B., 70-71.

Worthington. Bert, 148.

Wylie, Richard, 48.

Yount, George, 59.

Yountville, Hour mill at, 59.
— l^l6 —

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